Ex-ballet girl is top hammer thrower
AS a child, Sophie Hitchon dreamed of becoming a professional dancer, taking ballet classes for 12 years.
But at the age of 14 she discovered an unlikely new hobby – the hammer throw.
Now, aged 21 and a size 10, she hopes to put the glamour into hammer and bring the power sport to a new audience when she competes at the Olympics.
She said: ‘When I say I’m a hammer-thrower, people just have no idea what to say. I think they expect a large scary woman, but there are slim girls doing it.
‘There are girls out there changing the stereotype. I like getting dressed up and doing my hair and make-up.
‘I hope, when they see it this summer, it will change their image of it.’
The British record holder has a strong neck and shoulders, but a narrow waist and frame.
At 5ft 7in, she admits it used to be daunting competing against her 6ft tall, 14- stone rivals. But what she lacks in size, she makes up for in pace and agility – skills she learned from her ballet dancing.
She said: ‘Ballet really helped me with my balance. I started it when I was two so I always had the core stability and strength from that. It also taught me to be confident performing in front of people.’
She took up hammer throw after a coach at her athletics club in Burnley, Lancashire, said they had no one to do it and asked if she would give it a go.
She had a raw talent for the sport and broke the British under-17s record in her first year of competing, aged 15.
Last year Miss Hitchon broke the British senior record twice, most recently with a throw of 69.59m (228ft).
She extended the record to 71.61m in April. The world record is a little over 79m.