Woods Future Looks Bright
Amber Valley Athletic Club believe they have unearthed a gem in 13-year-old shot putter Abby Wood.
Derby High School student Wood saw the first fruits of a winter of structured training by throwing a huge championship best for an under-15 victory at the North of England Indoor Championships in Sheffield at the weekend.
Her throw of 11.30m was half-a-metre beyond the previous best and won the event by more than a metre-and-a-half.
At Amber Valley, she is learning throwing techniques and training from a good source in Bob Boyd, a former junior international.
"We mapped her out a winter set of targets and she's kept to them," said Boyd.
"She has all the tools for throwing. She has the right build and, just as important, she's an intelligent girl who understands what we're telling her."
With the English Schools Championship qualification set at 10m, Wood has already comfortably booked her place, assuming that the championships, beset by a lack of sponsorship, go ahead in the summer.
"She would have been top 10 in the under-15s last year and she's really only just started," said Boyd.
"There is a lot more to come from Abby."
Wood's was one of the first three medals the young Amber Valley club has ever picked up at North of England level.
David Feeney collected a silver when he clocked 8.77secs in the under-17 60m hurdles and Andrew Szarkowski got a bronze in the under-15 long jump.
Two Derby AC athletes also turned in outstanding performances.
High jumper Tom Mather pipped Sale Harrier Darren Hammond for gold on countback after both jumped 1.91m in the under-17 high jump.
It was 14-year-old Mather's first competition at under-17 and increased his indoor personal best by four centimetres.
Young sprinter Ben Stramkowski collected two medals, clocking 7.12secs for second in the under-17 60m final, although he ran one-hundredth faster in the semi, and adding a bronze in the under-17 200m final with a time of 23.16.
Reproduced with Kind Permission from Derby Evening Telegraph - Colstan Crawford -23 January 2004