Under 19 International Match - Great Britain v France - Dole, France 29 July 2001

Lincoln Wellington 15 year old Rachael Nathan has become the fastest ever UK female of her age over 3000m. She eclipsed all her previous outstanding performances by recording a stunning victory on her debut appearance in a Great Britain vest.

Although only 15 years old her recent performances over 3000m and her placing in the national rankings fully justified her selection for the British U-19 squad who were competing against their French counterparts at Dole in France. In most of her recent races she has taken up the running a long way from the finish but on this occasion she was content to let her team-mate Charlotte Dale, two years her senior and with a faster personal best time, make the pace.

With two laps to go the pair had seen off the French challenge but it was not until 300m from the finish that Nathan unleashed her trademark finishing burst which took her 6 seconds clear at the line in a superb personal best of 9.35.26 – almost six seconds quicker than her previous best recorded just a week previously in a schools international meeting in Ireland.

Her one remaining target for the season is the AAA’s U-17 championships at Don Valley Sheffield in two weeks time where she will move down a distance to contest the 1500m.

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