walsh aims for gold haul at indoor event

The 21-year-old from Dewsbury is competing at her first indoor event in Sheffield between February 20-22 when she hopes to put an injury ravaged season behind her.

Walsh has recovered from a stress fracture and the Durham University student is determined to make the most of her opportunity.

Walsh said: “I see this year as a comeback year, as I have not been able to do the BUCS Nationals until now and I’m in my fourth year at university.

“I am having to take things a bit steadier in training, I’m doing nowhere near as much as I used to, but just managing to tick the sessions off and getting a bit more consistency.

“I had a really good year in 2012 and I was hoping to build on that but I picked up a stress fracture in my femur and it was a big mess really.

“I have never done BUCS Indoors, I have never raced indoors at all, but I wanted to try something new and go out of university with a bang.”

Walsh won 1500m gold at the BUCS Nationals outdoor championships in 2012 at London’s Olympic Stadium and will compete in the indoor 3000m on February 22, her 22nd birthday.

Walsh added: “The 2012 BUCS event was in the Olympic Stadium, it was a test event for the Olympics, so that is my probably my favourite race ever. I have still got the race on video and I have to admit that I still play it quite often – it really was the best feeling ever.

British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) is the national governing body for Higher Education sport in the UK. BUCS aids grass roots participation through to supporting aspiring elite athletes on en route to Commonwealth or Olympic Games www.bucs.org.uk.