Combined and multi eventer
Abi’s athletics journey began aged 8 at West Chesire Athletics Club. Encouraged to try out a wide variety of events, Abi found that she enjoyed everything.
Photo credit: Mark Shearman
At her first English Schools’ Combined Events Championships in 2016 Abi finished 17th in junior pentathlon – long jump, high jump, shot put, 75m hurdles and 800 metres. A year later she claimed the gold, as well as 75m hurdles silver at English Schools’ Athletic Association Championships. In 2018 she took silver in the U17 heptathlon.
2019 saw Abi win 9 golds at domestic championships, including long jump at English Schools’, 80m hurdles, long jump and heptathlon at England U17 Championships, and pentathlon at England U17 Indoor Championships with a British record score of 4036.
She also broke heptathlon double World Champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson’s U17’s north-west heptathlon record.
Abi’s domestic success in both combined and individual events continued over the following three years: including 60m hurdles gold at Scottish Senior Championships, long jump gold at England U20 Indoor Championships and heptathlon gold two years in 2021 and 2022 at England U20 Championships, all alongside school and university studies.
Abi made her Team GB debut in 2023 in the 100m hurdles at the European Athletics Team Championships in Poland.
So far in 2024 Abi has won pentathlon gold at English Senior Indoor Championships with a new championship record of 4325 points. She placed 7th in the pentathlon at the Estonian Indoor Combined Events Championships, moving her up to 8th on the UK all-time pentathlon list, and on the world stage she placed 9th at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March.
At still just 21 years of age, Abi is one to watch.
Abi’s memories of English Schools’
“For me, English Schools felt like the stepping stone from competing in small league meetings to competing in a real Championship environment. It was always the highlight of the summer season and exposed me to experiences that you often get when you become a professional athlete, such as travelling as a team, overnight stays, call rooms, and competing in front of a crowd.
My biggest piece of advice is to genuinely just enjoy yourself, and try not to put too much pressure on your performance. In the moment it can feel like the end of the world if you don’t perform, but the lessons you’ll learn just taking part in a competition like English Schools can be more valuable than a medal or PB!”
For more information about the England Athletics Talent Pathways,
including Youth and Paralympic pathways, and for information about the
Amateur Athletic Association Charity for the Young funding opportunities,
use the links below
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Research: Ben Costello