AN OPERATION to fix a genetic condition is giving former UK 1500m champion Katrina Wootton a new lease of life as she gets set to return to international duty for the first time in four years this month, writes Paul Halford.
The Coventry Godiva athlete has been blighted for much of her career by Haglund’s deformity – an enlargement of the heel bone, which had begun to make track running impossible.
However, following a surgical procedure 12 months ago, the 31-year-old has been showing good form over longer distances. Her recent fourth at the European Cross Country Championship trials in Liverpool set her up for a return to the international event, being held in Chia, Italy, on December 11 (see p54 for AW’s preview).