The former ballet dancer preparing for the performance of her life after leaping into the hammer final
- Sophie Hitchon improved her British record to qualify
- Took lessons for 12 years and believes it improved her balance
- A 5ft 7in and just a Size 10, she hopes to change image of the sport
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Hammer thrower Sophie Hitchon reached the Olympic final yesterday - and then credited her years of ballet training for helping her deal with the 80,000 crowd cheering her on.
Roared on by home supporters during the first round of competition, the 21 year-old, who dreamed of becoming a professional dancer and took ballet lessons for 12 years, produced a superb throw of 71.98m in the final round to improve her British record by 37cm.
Amazingly, the blonde haired thrower said ballet and hammer throwing had actually complemented one another as the time she spent performing at shows and on stage during her dancing years had prepared her mentally to’ perform’ in front of an audience and helped her ‘cope with pressure.’
New talent: Twenty-one-year-old Hitchon has reached the final of the Women's Hammer Throw
‘The crowd makes a huge difference,’ she said, ‘I’ve never competed in front of a massive crowd like this and 90 per cent of them are cheering for you.
‘They’re all behind you and everyone just wants you to do well. It makes you feel really motivated to perform.
‘As soon as I walked in I knew I could do this. It was pretty much all or nothing when I produced my big throw, but as soon as I let go, I knew. And when it [the score] came up I was elated.’
She added : ‘It’s amazing to be here and the throw is amazing to start with. I was just proud to be on the team but to come here in a morning session with a full crowd and throw a Personal Best and a British record was amazing.’
From ballet dancer to hammer thrower: Sophie Hitchon, pictured when she was studying ballet, is now competing in the Olympic hammer throwing contest for Great Britain
It was at the age of 14 - Hitchon was already an accomplished dancer - that she took up the hammer after a coach at her local athletics club in Burnley, Lancashire, said they had no one to do it and asked if she would give it a go.
The girl known for her ballet, had a raw talent for the sport and broke the British under 17s record in her first year of competing, aged 15.
She said: ‘At first it seemed impossible because it was a completely different movement and using muscles I had never used before, but it got easier.
‘I was a 100m and 200m runner before that, but I loved hammer as soon as I tried it.
‘I’m looking forward to showing people what I can do.’ Hitchon had been set to bow out after a first-round attempt of 67.21m and a foul throw in the second round, but produced her giant throw to break the British record for a fifth time.
Heavy competition: At 5ft 7in and a size 10, Hitchon is far from the conventional hammer thrower, who are normally more than 6ft tall weighing more than 14 stone
Spinning up a storm: Hitchon competing in the women's hammer throw qualification at the London 2012 Olympic Games before waving to the crowd after getting through to the final
At At 5ft 7in and a size 10, she is certainly not the conventional image of hammer thrower where most of those she is up against are 6ft-tall, 14-stone rivals.
But what she lacks in size, she makes up for in pace and agility - skills she learned from her ballet dancing.
She said: ‘Ballet really helped me with my balance. I started it when I was two so I always had the core stability and strength from that. It also taught me to be confident performing in front of people.’
Hitchon jokes that when she tells people she is a hammer thrower they expect large ‘ scary’ people but she adds: ‘There are slim girls doing it. There are girls out there changing the stereotype.’
The women’s hammer was introduced to the Olympics in 2000 and Britain has never had a medallist - the last British thrower to win a medal was Fatima Whitbread’s silver in the javelin in 1988.
She will compete tomorrow in front of another capacity crowd in the hammer final.
Under pressure: Dancer turner hammer thrower Sophie Hitchon credits her years of performing ballet on the stage for helping her cope with pressure
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2185727/Olympics-2012-Former-ballet-dancer-Sophie-Hitchon-leaps-hammer-final.html#ixzz235k8YsT2
