WHITCHURCH sprinter Moira West is celebrating after winning four gold medals at the European Veterans Athletics Championships.
The 65-year-old travelled to Turkey for the event and put in a remarkable performance, winning the 100m, 200m, 400m and 4x400m relay in the 65-69 age-group.
The 100m was a close-run thing, with West edging out German athlete Ingrid Meier in a photo-finish, clocking 15.30sec – and it was this gold medal that meant most to the Winchester and District Athletic Club runner. “I was most pleased to win the 100m because I had never beaten Ingrid before,” West said. “I managed to win in a photo-finish, so it was really tight.”
West followed that success up by winning the 200m in 31.90sec, finishing more than three seconds ahead of the silver medallist. She also headed up an all-British podium in the 400m, winning in 1min 14.00sec, while the 4x400m relay team broke the British record, clocking 5:32.74 on their way to gold.
“I exceeded my expectations by a long way,” West added. “I did a lot of work for the 400m and thought it was my best opportunity, but I would have been happy with a medal in that and the 200m and I didn’t think I could win the 100m.
“I am really pleased because I have had a really good season. In fact, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to top it.”
West plans to have a brief rest before returning to training, with the European Indoor and World Championships in her sights for 2015.
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