WHY I RUN
Sam Quek
In 2016, Sam Quek became a household name as part of the women’s GB team that made history by bringing home an Olympic gold in hockey
Sam showed a talent for running from an early age
How did you get into running?
The ‘spark’ happened when I was 11 and had just started senior school. I went to a girl’s grammar school and our PE sessions were often spent running around the block. I have no idea how far the distance was, but I remember the look on my teachers’ faces the first couple of times I completed the run. I was short, but I used to fly around the block. The teachers asked if I had ever run before, but I hadn’t. I wasn’t aware of any talent I had, but I did well in a few crosscountry races. I think my path followed a similar one to many women my age. Sport wasn’t cool if you were a girl then. I was good at tennis too, but either my aptitude for sports was never nurtured, or I rejected it to try to be a cool teenager.