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HAMMER thrower Alix Barton has Olympic ambitions
Barton’s glory bid
1/10/2008
King’s Girls’ Division hammer thrower Alix Barton has her sights set on the 2012 Olympic Games after winning a bronze medal in the National Junior Athletics League under-20 competition aged only 15-years-old.
The Macclesfield athlete has now moved from Macclesfield Harriers to the region’s top club Sale Harriers to access specialist coaching and facilities and next year when she will qualify for elite development.
A former sprinter, Alix is a far throw from Eastern Bloc hammer specialists, who have dominated the event and given it a rough tough image.
Alix said: "It’s not about brute strength but about speed and above all technique. My training both at Sale and at home revolves around perfecting my technique and developing speed in the circle."
She added: "My friends all think its pretty cool and one special friend wanted to try it herself, but it was just wasn’t going to happen, she couldn’t pick up the hammer."
Alix trains twice a week at Sale, takes part in competitions around the region and nationwide and just wishes the event had a higher profile.
"We have never really had a big name female hammer thrower in this country. Our representative this year went out in the first round of the Beijing Olympic Games and you had to be up at 3.30 in the morning just to see her throw."
Alix added: "I’d really love to change that, if not in 2012 then at the following Olympics when I will probably be at my peak."
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