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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Tamworth, ENG |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Birchfield Harriers: Birmingham, ENG |
Further Personal Information | |
| Higher education | Mathematics, Sports Science - Loughborough University: England |
General Interest | |
| Injuries | In July 2014 she pulled out of a Diamond League meeting in Glasgow, Scotland, with a foot problem. Ten days before the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, she discovered it was a stress fracture to her foot and it forced her to miss the event and ended her 2014 season. (Twitter profile, 10 Jul 2014; Facebook page, 05 Feb 2016) She tore her quadriceps in 2010. She also suffered from a pelvic problem in the same year. (meghanbeesley.net, 30 Jun 2010; tamworthherald.co.uk, 24 Jun 2010) Her 2009 season was cut short through injury. (spar.co.uk, 31 Dec 2009) |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Winning her first international medal in the 4x400m relay at the 2007 Junior European Championships. (meghanbeesley.net, 08 Sep 2015) |
| Other sports | She has also competed in the heptathlon earlier in her career. (stellarathletics.co.uk, 2015) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | She won a competition to get a year's free membership at a local track in Tamworth, England. |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | US sprinter Allyson Felix. (spar.co.uk, 31 Dec 2009) |
| Ambitions | To compete at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (Facebook page, 05 Feb 2016) |
| Awards and honours | She won the 2013 President Award for the best individual club performance at the Birchfield Harriers club in England. (birchfieldharriers.net, 11 Nov 2013) She won the Tamworth Herald's Sportswoman of the Year award in 2013. (tamworthherald.co.uk, 02 Jan 2014) She won the SPAR Outstanding Athlete of the Year Award in 2007. (spar.co.uk, 31 Dec 2009) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | Nick Dakin |
| Coach from what year? | 2009 |
| Training Regime | She does track sessions on Tuesdays and Saturdays, which focus on speed-endurance repetitions at close to race pace. She does hurdling on Thursdays and Mondays. She complements this with an aerobic run or cycle twice a week, as well as plyometrics and strength work. |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | She took up athletics in 2000 at age 10 in Tamworth, England. Prior to athletics she had been dancing since age four, and practised tap and modern dance until age 15. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2010 |
| Competing for | England |
Further Personal Information | |
| Occupation | Athlete |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Coach from which country? | England |
General Interest | |
| Most influential person in career | Her mother. (trackfield97.com, 27 May 2015) |
International Debut | |
| Tournament | Commonwealth Games |
| Location | Delhi |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | “Don't worry that your best won't be good enough. Have a go at everything, don't quit, try your hardest and you will have no regrets.” (sportsforschools.org, 01 Jun 2015) |
| Other information | NOT A QUITTER She almost quit athletics to become a teacher after missing out on the Great Britain team the 2012 Olympic Games in London. "It was hard to pick myself up when I didn't get selected for the Olympics. I was really close to quitting. I was ready to enrol on a course but I am glad that I didn't now because 2013 was great. Breaking 55 seconds was a big milestone for me and it's given me a lot of confidence to push on." (yahoo.com, 02 Jan 2014) PART-TIME JOB She has a part-time job as a customer service advisor for an international express mail service, which she has found has benefited her training. "It gave me an extremely structured daily routine and encouraged me to be very organised with my meals and my recovery." (athleticsweekly.com, 27 Aug 2013; meghanbeesley.net, 18 Aug 2013) MASCOT She has a teddy bear named Gabi Bear, who is her mascot and comes with her to all of her events. She has also created a Facebook page for Gabi Bear. (meghanbeesley.net, 08 Sep 2015) |