ADELE Nicoll stunned the rest of the field by completing an historic double at last week’s Aviva SIAB Schools under 17s Track and Field International in Kent.
The Year 10 student and jewel in Welshpool High School's sporting crown broke a long standing 19 year record by winning both the shot and discus to underline her reputation as one of the most exciting emerging talents in British athletics.
The international saw the best English, Scottish, Irish and Welsh under 17 age grade athletes go head to head at the Julie Rose Stadium at Ashford in Kent.
Her latest victory marks a memorable summer for Nicoll who won the shot at the Sainsbury’s School Games at London’s Olympic Stadium before success at the Aviva Internationals and Cymru Cup Final.
Nicoll opened her busy afternoon with the discus, and her best throw of 44.34 metres ensured victory by over three metres from Hannah O’Sullivan of Ireland, 41.28m who had to be content with second place.
It also underlined Nicoll’s ongoing development as a top class athlete with the throw over six metres better that her 38.02 metre effort which gave her third place in the SIAB International in Cardiff last year.
Almost immediately, she was back in action defending the SIAB shot title, which she won with a 12.76 metres put in 2011.
This year, she was again in class of her own and, although the winning distance was, by her standards, a relatively modest 13.16 metres effort, she still won by 55 centimetres from England’s Annabel Sherry who also finished second last summer.
Her exploits in Kent saw her enter the history books as the first Welsh girl
to record a shot and discus double at this fixture with Ireland’s Phillipa Roles the only other athlete to complete such a feat in 1993.
Although there were no other Welsh winners, there were a number of encouraging second and third place finishes at a competition which, as expected, was dominated by athletes from English schools.
Nicoll also complete a shot and discus double at the Celtic Games Athletics Championships in Aberdeen.
A throw of 13.67 saw her triumph in the under 18s shot put before throwing 41.60m to win the discus.
Meanwhile Llandloes High School’s Rosie Unwin was also in action in the 80m hurdles and came home a respectable fifth with a time of 12.98.
Unwin was the only other Mid Wales interest in the national competition.