CHASING THE DREAM

STEEPLECHASER VICTORIA WEIR IS AIMING HIGH AFTER A SUCCESSFUL 2016, WRITES EMILY MOSS

VICTORIA WEIR

HAVING won the English Schools senior girls’ 1500m steeplechase title in a UK age-group record earlier this year, 18-year-old Victoria Weir cannot help but wonder where her athletics career could take her.

Although the City of Plymouth athlete’s long-term goal is to race internationally, she is not forgetting the real reason she is in the sport. “A dream would be to represent my country,” she says. “However, my definite long-term target is to make sure that whatever I end up doing in athletics, I am doing it because I love running and want to use my talent, rather than anything else. I’ll continue to train hard and see where that takes me.”

Such a healthy and balanced attitude is clearly serving Victoria well, as she has this year enjoyed a big improvement over all distances, in addition to claiming her first national title in a UK best at the English Schools. She says of that: “It was the biggest achievement in my athletics so far. I was ranked first on the Power of 10 and really wanted to win, but really didn’t expect it. I felt ready and I was running better than I ever had in my life. As soon as the gun went, all pressure and expectations left my head, and it felt like any other race. Winning my first national title was an immense feeling that I will never forget. I was overwhelmed when standing on the podium.”