Former ballerina Sophie bags first GB hammer medal
AFORMER dancer who only took up the hammer throw because her athletics club needed points for participating in local competitions won Britain’s first Olympic medal in the event for 92 years yesterday.
Sophie Hitchon spun round the throwing circle with the grace of a prima ballerina, then launched the 4kg metal ball high into the air with immense power and precision to win bronze with a British record of 74.54m.
The 25-year-old had only qualified for the final in 11th place but shone from the start on a warm morning in the Joao Havelange stadium, recording a season’s best of 73.29m in the second round. At the halfway stage, she was in third but slipped out of the medal positions before launching her final assault, adding 70cm to her own previous British best.
Almost as soon as the hammer left her hands, Hitchon raised them both to her head, a look of utter disbelief etched on her face. ‘I knew straight away when I let go,’ she said. ‘I turned around and my coach was like: “Yeah!” I know if he likes it, it’s going far.’
Her parents, Wendy and Michael, and sister Emma were watching from home in Burnley.
‘To say we were watching is a bit stretched,’ Wendy told Sportsmail. ‘It was on TV but I ended up going to hang my washing out because I couldn’t bear to watch and Michael was doing his usual pacing up and down while Emma was trying to keep us in check. It would have been nice to be there and, I know it might sound strange when your daughter is in the Olympics, but I got made redundant a couple of months ago and we couldn’t really justify the cost.’
Draped in the Union flag, Hitchon completed a lap of honour with Poland’s Anita Wlodarczyk, who improved on her own world record by more than a metre to win gold with a throw of 82.29m. China’s Zhang Wenxiu took silver with 76.75m.
The hammer is, by reputation, one of the least glamorous events and, in the past, Hitchon has bemoaned the fact it is not even included on the Diamond League circuit. But she rightly points out that you do not need to be huge and hairy to be a success and she certainly challenges the stereotype.
‘She’s fit and healthy, 5ft 7in and weighs 11 stone, so she’s not the big bulky athlete — she’s athletic and technically good,’ said Wendy. ‘A lot of them throw on brute force, but she perfects what she does.’
Wendy signed her daughter up for ballet classes at nursery at the age of three and dancing occupied most of her free time. She performed in showcases at the Mechanics Theatre in her home town of Burnley.
‘It wasn’t just ballet,’ said Wendy. ‘It was tap dancing, modern and gymnastics. It has all helped with hammer in terms of balance, agility, co-ordination and core strength. She was a bit of a chunky monkey, not a typical ballet dancer shape, but she persisted and practised until she decided to take up the hammer and give it more time.’ Hitchon stumbled across hammer as a 14-year-old. Her father is a former English Schools champion in the 100 metres and coached Hitchon when she began at Pendle Athletics Club. She was a useful sprinter and did the shot put but the team never had anyone to throw the hammer and they needed points so Hitchon stepped up, launching it a modest 28m at her debut competition.
But, in her first year, she broke the British Under-17 record. Over the next two seasons, she smashed 14 junior and Under-23 marks.
At the 2015 World Championships, she came within a whisker of her first major medal, finishing fourth. At the European Championships earlier this summer, she was fourth again.
‘To finish so close to the medals was frustrating,’ she said. ‘But to do it in an Olympics trumps that.’
‘We’re so proud,’ added Wendy. ‘She works so hard and has had to sacrifice such a lot. She has a boyfriend in California but it can be a lonely life. You don’t have time to see friends or go on holiday. But to win an Olympic medal is genuinely
fabulous.’