Chippenham sprinter Elaine O’Neill says her upset victory in the inaugural Super 8 event is yet more proof of the rapid improvements she is making.
The former Sheldon School pupil, 19, upset pre-race favourite Kadi Ann Thomas to claim the 100 metre prize last Wednesday in Cardiff in a time of 11.74 seconds.
“Kadi is a pretty established sprinter,” she said.
“I raced her earlier in the season at an indoor event in Italy and came second, so it shows I’m still getting better.”
O’Neill was a member of the victorious South London team at the event which was captained by Beijing Olympic bronze medalist Natasha Danvers.
The pair were due to link up in the 100m relay race until an unfortunate injury resulted in the team being disqualified.
“She was running the first leg of the relay and I was doing the second so I practiced with her quite a bit before,” said O’Neill. “You can really tell her experience.
“In the race she pulled her hamstring but kept running. I thought ‘oh God, she looks in pain’ and moved forward, but that meant she passed it to me outside of the area.
“We still won though so it was okay.”
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