ALL-ROUNDER Phoebe Harland came away from the All-England Schools’ Athletic Championships with a silver medal in the junior girls’ high jump.
The Solihull School pupil finished runner-up at Gateshead International Stadium with a leap of 1.72m, which was the same height as the winner.
Conditions in Gateshead were not conducive to this event but Harland showed great determination and excellent technique to come very close to clearing what would have been a winning height of 1.75m.
Harland has been high-jumping for little over a year at Birchfield Harriers, where she is coached by Fuzz Ahmed – a national high jump coach who has helped raise the careers of both male and female national champions.
Under Ahmed’s guidance, Harland has made great improvements and her personal best so far is 1.77m, which places her as number one in the country for her age group.
High jump is just one of many sports taken up by Harland.
She trains twice a week with her coach but also plays hockey at county level and school netball, as well as rounders.
