Athlete Spotlight – Angela Barrett

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TVH women’s success in reclaiming their UKWAL Premiership title is down in large part to their outstanding team spirit – a spirit epitomised by captain Angela Barrett.

Angela has competed for TVH for all the way from the junior ranks and her triple jump and long jump have been a bedrock for the club’s rise through the women’s ranks.

And Angela’s own performance just keeps on improving as shown by the PBs she set last year in the Triple jump (13.19) and this year in the Long jump (6.09) – both at Wormwood Scrubs!

A Nationals triple jump winner all the way back in 2001, Angela has shown great grit to battle through injury and the ups and down of form.

She’s been a beating heart of the TVH team all the way through and the team’s current rich vein of form must taste all the sweeter.

Performance progression: http://powerof10.info/athletes/profile.aspx?athleteid=20044

 

 

  1. How did you get into athletics?

When I was in Year 7 I ran a 100m race on grass, but slipped at the start. That weekend my parents took me to buy running spikes and I saw an advert in the shop for the local club, which I joined.

 

  1. Which achievements in the sport are you proudest of?

I represented Great Britain Under 20s as a 15-year old, and it wasn’t until 9 years later that I made a national team again. That was a good moment.

 

  1. What have been the biggest factors in your development?

Getting regular access to good training facilities – having a gym and indoor track nearby. Being in the right training group with the right coach.

 

  1. What’s the toughest challenge you’ve overcome?

I’ve had chronic hamstring problems for years, they’ve never gone away but I’ve learnt to manage them. I also injured both ankles at the start of this year; just as one healed I sprained the other.

 

  1. Who have been your heroes/role models? And your mentors?

It’s great that the Men’s Triple Jump world record is held by a Brit – in 22 years no one has jumped further than Jonathan Edwards. I get on well with my coach Frank Attoh and have set PBs in the Long and Triple jump in the three years I’ve been in his group.

 

  1. What part has TVH played in your development?

I joined TVH in order to compete in the UK Women’s League, which provided a good level of competition. I chose TVH because I knew John Smith as he was Middlesex team manager for U13/U15 competitions that I’d done.

 

  1. What are your top athletics goals – for the near-term and the long-term?

Aiming for PBs and seeing where that can take me. Striving for a higher standard.

 

  1. What are your interests and aims outside athletics?

I work as a post-doctoral researcher for UCL’s Respiratory department, and am focussed on a career in research and university teaching. In winter I attempt to snowboard and am slowly getting better.

 

  1. What’s your top training tip?

Consistency. And when you are injured, find the things you can still do without pain and do them.

 

  1. Describe your personality in three words!  

Persistent organised overthinker