A NORTH Hampshire schoolgirl is celebrating after claiming a national indoor rowing title.
Amy Luke, who is 12 and lives in Sherborne St John, travelled to the National Cycling Centre, in Manchester, to compete in the English Indoor Rowing Championship.
A total of 25 girls entered the Junior 12 (Year 7) category, with competitors rowing as far as they could in the space of two minutes on an indoor rower similar to those found at most gyms.
Luke claimed a new personal best, covering 538m, to claim the gold medal.
She said: “I entered the championships just to have a go, so I was thrilled to bits when I won the event with a personal best distance.”
Luke was inspired to take up indoor rowing when British Olympic rowing champion, Katherine Grainger, visited The Abbey School, where she is a pupil.
Luke won an inter-house indoor rowing competition and soon realised that her distances were up there with some of the top competitors in the country.
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