KATIE Stainton marked her return from injury by winning no fewer than three championship titles at the England Athletics Combined Events Championships in Sheffield over the weekend.
After missing most of last season due to injury, Knowle heptathlete Stainton returned with a bang by taking a hat-trick of wins north of the border.
Stainton, who competes for Birchfield Harriers, scored a personal best score of 4,086 points to secure victory in the Woman’s Pentathlon.
And that score was enough for her to take home the Senior National Championship as well as the Under-23 National Championship and Midlands Championship.
After the first event which was the 60m hurdles, Stainton fond herself in seventh overall following a personal best of 8.82 seconds.
A high jump score of 1.75m brought the Knowle athlete up to second behind Harrow AC’s Marilyn Nwawalor and the two ladies stayed in those positions after the shot putt, where Stainton obtained a PB of 10.88m, and the long jump, in which she scored 6.03m.
Just 73 points separated the pair heading into the final event which was the 800m.
Stainton knew she had to finish seven seconds ahead of her rival but it soon became obvious that Marilyn was not going to give up the title without a fight.
After the second lap, Stainton started to pull away and, inspired by her travelling supporters, she ran through the finish line eight seconds ahead of her rival to take the championship by 29 points.
This was Stainton’s first senior national title and delighted coach and heptathlon 2004 Olympic bronze medallist, Kelly Sotherton.
As a result of taking the title, Stainton also gains an automatic selection for a Great Britain team who will be taking part in an international pentathlon in the next few weeks.
