Helen Clitheroe

British middle- and long-distance runner

Helen Clitheroe (née Pattinson)

Personal information

Born|  (1974-01-02) 2 January 1974 (age 50)
Preston, Lancashire, UK
Height| 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight| 57 kg (126 lb; 9.0 st)
Sport
Country|  Great Britain
Club| Preston Harriers
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)| 1500 m: 4:01.10
3000 m: 8:51.02
3000 m steeplechase: 9:29.14
5000 m: 15:06.75
10000 m: 31:45[1]

Medal record

Women’s athletics
Representing  Great Britain
European Indoor Championships
| 2011 Paris | 3000 m
Commonwealth Games
| 2002 Manchester | 1500 m

Updated on 6-03-2011.

Helen Teresa Clitheroe (née Pattinson) (born 2 January 1974 in Preston, England) is a female former British middle and long-distance runner.[2]

## Athletics career[edit]

She competed in the 1500 m at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[3]

She represented England in the 1,500 metres event, at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[4][5] Four years later she was the 1500 m bronze medallist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.[6]

She achieved the Olympic A qualifying standard for the 3000 m steeplechase at the Meeting Iberoamericano, in Huelva on 13 June 2008, where she finished eighth in a time of 9:43.56.[7] Her place in the British team for the Games was confirmed when she won the British trials in a new national record time of 9:36.98.[8] At the Games she finished sixth in her heat and did not advance to the next round of competition, despite beating her own national record with a time of 9:29.14.[9] At the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final, in Stuttgart, Clitheroe placed 9th in the 3000 m steeplechase in a time of 9:39.72.[10]

She completed a spell of high-altitude training in Iten, Kenya and then came close to a 3000 m lifetime best at the Aviva International Match in January 2011, finishing with a stadium record run.[11][12] The May 2011 Great Manchester Run saw her produce a career best for the 10K as she completed a dominant performance to win the race in a time of 31:45 minutes.[13] She set herself a similar target at the European Cup 10000m in June 2011, but suffered in hot conditions and finished in fourth with a time of 32:11.29 minutes.[14]

She continued working in the Industry as a coach, and during 2022 was coaching with the New Balance team at Manchester, working as personal coach to Ciara Mageean during her very successful 2022 season.

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Great North Run 2011". Retrieved 15 May 2011.
2. ^ "Team GB > Beijing 2008 > Athlete profile > Helen Clitheroe". Website of the BOA. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
3. ^ "Athlete Biography - Clitheroe, Helen". The Official Website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Archived from the original on 3 September 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
4. ^ "1998 Athletes". Team England.
5. ^ "England team in 1998". Commonwealth Games Federation.
6. ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
7. ^ "Tim Abeyie wins in Rabat, Helen Clitheroe attains Olympic standard in Huelva". Athletics Weekly. 15 June 2008. Archived from the original on 2 August 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
8. ^ "Clitheroe qualifies for Beijing". BBC Sport. 14 July 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
9. ^ "Olympics 2008 - Day 1 Evening Session Report". UK Athletics. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
10. ^ "Ohuruogu ready for Richards". sportinglife.com. Retrieved 20 September 2008.
11. ^ Brown, Matthew (2011-01-29). Ennis sparkles in Glasgow. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-01-30.
12. ^ Jessica Ennis starts season with hurdles win in Glasgow . BBC Sport (2011-01-29). Retrieved on 2011-01-30.
13. ^ Wenig, Jorg (2011-05-15). Gebrselassie takes fourth Manchester 10Km victory, Clitheroe surprises. IAAF. Retrieved on 2011-05-27.
14. ^ Portugal double victory at the European Cup 10000m Archived 8 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine. European Athletics (2011-06-04). Retrieved on 2011-06-05.

## External links[edit]

* Helen Clitheroe at World Athletics

* v
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* e

European Athletics Indoor Champions in women's 3000 metres

* 1982:  Agnese Possamai (ITA)
* 1983:  Yelena Sipatova (URS)
* 1984:  Brigitte Kraus (FRG)
* 1985:  Agnese Possamai (ITA)
* 1986:  Ines Bibernell (GDR)
* 1987:  Yvonne Murray (GBR)
* 1988:  Elly van Hulst (NED)
* 1990:  Elly van Hulst (NED)
* 1992:  Margareta Keszeg (ROM)
* 1994:  Fernanda Ribeiro (POR)
* 1996:  Fernanda Ribeiro (POR)
* 1998:  Gabriela Szabo (ROM)
* 2000:  Gabriela Szabo (ROM)
* 2002:  Marta Domínguez (ESP)
* 2005:  Lidia Chojecka (POL)
* 2007:  Lidia Chojecka (POL)
* 2009:  Alemitu Bekele (TUR)
* 2011:  Helen Clitheroe (GBR)
* 2013:  Sara Moreira (POR)
* 2015:  Sviatlana Kudzelich (BLR)
* 2017:  Laura Muir (GBR)
* 2019:  Laura Muir (GBR)
* 2021:  Amy-Eloise Markovc (GBR)
* 2023:  Hanna Klein (GER)

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* e

British Athletics Championships women's 3000 metres steeplechase champions

* 2007–09: Helen Clitheroe
* 2010: Barbara Parker
* 2011: Lennie Waite
* 2012–14: Eilish McColgan
* 2015: Lennie Waite
* 2016: Rosie Clarke
* 2017: Iona Lake
* 2018–19: Rosie Clarke
* 2020: Aimee Pratt
* 2021–22: Elizabeth Bird
* 2023: Poppy Tank

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* World Athletics

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