A jubilant Heather Fell celebrates Silver
Heather Fell a member of the Kelly Swim Squad won a silver in the Modern Pentathlon yesterday (22nd August 2008) at the Olympic Games in Beijing. This was a dream come true for Heather who went into the competition ranked 4th . Her swim and run coach Robin Brew said, "Heather had an absolutely fantastic day, with a great start in the shoot and fence, followed by a lifetime best performance in the swim. This moved Heather up to Silver medal position prior to the ride. With the draw of Horses proving to be a lottery for the men the previous day, with dire complications, Heather showed both her skilled and accomplished background as a class rider posting the 2nd best ride of the day . In the final event, the 3km run which zig-zagged its way around the Birds Nest Stadium, Heather was positioned 19 seconds behind Lena Schoneborn of Germany on the start line. By the 2km mark Heather had closed the gap to 9 seconds, with victory in the Germans sights Heather threw everything at it and on this occasion the gap proved too big a task to close, despite Heather having the run of her life. Wow a silver medal for Heather, what a fantastic achievement, we are all very proud of her. She has worked so very hard these past two years, overcoming many setbacks and difficulties. To see Heather compete against the rest of the world knowing that we have quietly and determinedly been working away here in our little backwater in Tavistock is so satisfying. I know when the celebrations are over Heather will be keen to set about achieving Gold in 2012 – what an exciting four years ahead!"
Heather will be staying over in Beijing to support her Kelly Team mates Claire Cashmore, Louise Watkin and Lauren Steadman who leave today with coach Robin Brew to join the GB Team for 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games which start on the 7th September.
Watch the Blog for updates and photos of our swimmers over the next four weeks.
