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| Human Interest | |
|---|---|
Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Loughborough, ENG |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Sale Harriers Athletic Club: Manchester, ENG |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Psychology - Staffordshire University: Stoke-on-Trent, ENG |
General Interest | |
| Hobbies | Photography, films and shopping. (Athlete, 06 Sep 2010) |
| Injuries | She had surgery on both Achilles in September 2008. (Athlete, 06 Sep 2010) |
| Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs | She has a pair of lucky socks that she intends to wear until London 2012. "They are getting rather tatty, but they have served me well." (telegraph.co.uk, 27 Jul 2011) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | First time she broke the British Record in 2009.(Athlete, 06 Sep 2010) |
| Other sports | She competed in gymnastics and finished fourth at the U-12 British championships. (telegraph.co.uk, 27 Jul 2011) |
| Famous relatives | Her mother swam for Zambia. Her older brother, Simon, has swum nationally and her younger brother, Bruce, has taken part in gymnastics at junior international level.(bbc.co.uk, 29 Jul 2011) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | She couldn't see herself progressing any further at gymnastics and thought the pole vault looked fun. |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | Her family. (Athlete, 06 Sep 2010) |
| Hero / Idol | Ryan Giggs. (Athlete, 06 Sep 2010) |
| Ambitions | To break the British women's pole vault record at the London 2012 Olympic Games. (charnwood.gov.uk, 06 Mar 2012) |
| Awards and honours | She was the first British junior to clear four metres and later broke the British record nine times in one year. (telegraph.co.uk, 27 Jul 2011) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Scott Simpson |
| Handedness | Right |
| Training Regime | She trains up to 24 hours per week. |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She took up the pole vault when she was 16. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2006 |
| Competing for | England |
| Tournament | Commonwealth Games |
| Location | Melbourne, VIC |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Denno. (Athlete, 06 Sep 2010) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | Have fun, this is what I love doing! (Athlete, 06 Sep 2010) |
| Other information | FROM SOUTH AFRICA TO BRITAIN She moved to Britain aged four. Her move to Loughborough at 21 was pivotal in her development. "[Loughborough] has a reputation for either making or breaking you. The key to my success was going there at 21 so I wasn't as involved in the student lifestyle anymore. Being surrounded by people who have the same goal is really is important, you can guide each other through the years." (bbc.co.uk, 29 Jul 2011; telegraph.co.uk, 27 Jul 2011) NEW RIVAL After breaking the British record 10 times, which netted her £5,000 on each occasion, Holly Bleasdale broke Dennison's record with a clearance of 4.70m. Dennison appreciates the competition. "In the past maybe I have rested on my laurels. I need to step it up and hopefully competing with Holly will help me do that." (independent.co.uk, 16 May 2012) |