Helen Teresa Clitheroe (née Pattinson) (born 2 January 1974 in

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

) is a female former British middle and

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

Athletics career

She competed in the

1500 m The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

at the

2000 Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

in Sydney and in the

3000 m steeplechase The 3000 metres steeplechase or 3000-meter steeplechase (usually abbreviated as ) is the most common distance for the steeplechase in track and field. It is an obstacle race over the distance of the 3000 metres, which derives its name from the h ...

at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...

in Beijing. She represented England in the 1,500 metres event, at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Four years later she was the 1500 m bronze medallist at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

. She achieved the Olympic A qualifying standard for the 3000 m steeplechase at the Meeting Iberoamericano, in Huelva on 13 June 2008, where she finished eighth in a time of 9:43.56. Her place in the Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics, British team for the Games was confirmed when she won the British trials in a new national record time of 9:36.98. At the Games she finished Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Women's 3000 metres steeplechase, sixth in her heat and did not advance to the next round of competition, despite beating her own national record with a time of 9:29.14. At the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final, in Stuttgart, Clitheroe placed 9th in the 3000 m steeplechase in a time of 9:39.72. She completed a spell of high-altitude training in Iten, Kenya and then came close to a 3000 m lifetime best at the Aviva International Match in January 2011, finishing with a stadium record run. The May 2011 Great Manchester Run saw her produce a career best for the 10K as she completed a dominant performance to win the race in a time of 31:45 minutes. She set herself a similar target at the European Cup 10000m in June 2011, but suffered in hot conditions and finished in fourth with a time of 32:11.29 minutes.Portugal double victory at the European Cup 10000m
. European Athletics (2011-06-04). Retrieved on 2011-06-05. She continued working in the Industry as a coach, and during 2022 was coaching with the New Balance team at Manchester, working as personal coach to Ciara Mageean during her very successful 2022 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clitheroe, Helen Teresa Pattinson 1974 births Living people Sportspeople from Preston, Lancashire British female long-distance runners English female long-distance runners English female middle-distance runners British female middle-distance runners British female steeplechase runners English female steeplechase runners Olympic female middle-distance runners Olympic female steeplechase runners Olympic athletes of Great Britain Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Great Britain European Athletics Indoor Championships winners British Athletics Championships winners AAA Championships winners Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games