Running in the family

Jul 3 2009 by Mike Wilson

FLYING athlete Rachel Whittle won three medals in a hectic 30 minutes of action in Athens.

The 14-year-old’s breathtaking performance stunned onlookers at the prestigious International Children’s Games.

And it left her the number one under 17 athlete in Scotland for the 100 metres.

Proud mum Dawn said: “It was an outstanding achievement.”

Rachel had to dash between events to seal her triple medal haul. She ran 49.7 secs in the winning girls’ 4 x 100 metres relay team, was second in the 100 metres in a personal best 12.46 secs and third in the high jump in 1.59 metres.

The Marr College marvel is now in the Scottish schools team for an international in Antrim in July.

By coincidence, Rachel’s new best time came exactly 20 years after Dawn, a former GB internationalist, ran her personal best for the 400 metres.

Breaking records runs in the family. Dad Brian is best remembered for helping Britain to relay gold in the 1986 European Championships in West Germany when he ran the third leg of 4x400m race with a bare foot after one of his shoes fell off.