Elaine O’Neill is a 22 year old sprinter who has represented Great Britain and Wales at Senior, under 23 and under 20 levels.
Her first introduction to athletics was in secondary school where she competed for her school in the ‘Area Sports’ days, but did not have any real interest in the sport (her real interest lying in Netball) until the age of 14, where she qualified for her first taste of National level competition – The English Schools National Championships. After competing at these championships, she decided to take up training once a week with the Wessex & Bath athletics club and see where she could go with this new sport.
However, hampered by injury, no noticeable progress was made until 2006 when Elaine was 16. During this year she won her first National Medals and ran in the 4x100m Great Britain relay team at the IAAF World Junior Championships, China. This inspiring experience spurred Elaine on to compete and achieve within athletics.
Since then, Elaine has qualified for an International Team every year up to 2010.
2009 saw Elaine win her first International Medal in the form of a Gold at the European under 23 Championships, as part of the Great Britain 4x100m team. She also came 5th in the 100m.
2010 would have to be Elaine’s most successful season so far. Winning medals in both the 100m and 200m at the Aviva UK Championships, while only being 20 years of age, was a huge achievement for her, competing against some of the most established women sprinters in the UK. A week later she set a personal best of 11.39 seconds, which was under the qualifying mark for the Commonwealth Games. She was also selected as part of the Great Britain 4x100m relay squad for that summers’ European Championships in Barcelona.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games was Elaine’s first real experience on a Senior International stage, where she represented Wales over the 100m and 200m. She reached the final of the 200m which was a massive turning point in Elaine’s career, giving her even more belief that she could achieve within the sport.
Unfortunately 2011 was plagued by injury, inhibiting Elaine from taking part in a full season. However, Elaine has overcome these problems and is now fit, healthy and ready to run. She is looking to forward to an inspiring and unforgettable 2012 season.
Elaine is also currently in her 3rd year of study at Loughborough University, where she hopes to graduate next summer.
Follow Elaine on Twitter.
