Cheriece and Shannon Hylton WARRIORS

Quick as a flash on the track and equally quick-witted offit, the Hylton sisters are on track for GB glory at the postponed Tokyo Olympics, now scheduled for 2021. Prepare to be wooed and wowed

Words: Rachel Ifans

Cheriece and Shannon Hylton are identical twins from south east London who are taking the GB sprint scene by storm. Surprisingly, they’re not the only identical twins competing on the track at the moment; you might have heard of Laviai and Lina Nielsen, who race and compete alongside the Hyltons and often have spectators thinking they’re seeing double.

Cheriece specialises over 400m, while her sister Shannon excels at 200m. We spoke to them about their strengths, weaknesses, ambitions and inspirations as they return to winter training after a frustratingly race-free season. With Tokyo in their sights, it’s been a chance to take stock, build strength, and improve technique and stamina, but now they’re keen to get back on the blocks.

A need for speed

Cheriece and Shannon’s lightning-quick speed was first picked up in Y5 at primary school, when Nanette Cross from Blackheath & Bromley Harriers did a term at their school as a peripatetic sports teacher. “She said, ‘You girls are pretty fast, do you fancy coming down to the local track in Bromley?’” remembers Shannon. “So we did.”

That jaw-dropping speed is something both of their parents like to claim credit for. Shannon laughs: “Both mum and dad really loved running. When people ask where we got our running genes from, they both claim it came from them! One says, ‘I was the best in my school’ and then the other will say, ‘Well, I was the best at county level!’”

At the age of 10, both Shannon and Cheriece started to attend the Bees Academy once a week, a coaching initiative that caters for kids from Reception age to Y9 to encourage participation in sport and develop athletic ability. They both loved it for the grounding it gave them in various track and field events; Cheriece remembers that it was an opportunity to do everything from hammer throwing to discus, and from running to jumping. Shannon says: “I think I just threw myself into all the events, but I remember particularly loving the vertical jump and the standing long jump.”