Sophie O’Hara – Athlete Profile
Sophie O’Hara is 16 years of age and has been a Kingston upon Hull Athletic Club athlete since 2011. She is a field athlete who specialises in the throwing events, and in particular, the shot and the discus disciplines. The recent 2015 track and field season represented Sophie’s 5th competitive campaign in the clubs colours.
She trains under the supervision of Dave Bennett, one of Kingston’s specialist throws coaches, and she is one of several youngsters in Dave’s training group who are showing real potential, and are getting themselves noticed on the athletics circuit.
Sophie made her competition debut at 12 years of age, at the 2011 Young Athletes Inter County Championships, which were held in Nottingham. She competed for her County in the shot competition, picking up a most creditable 3rd place finish.
The 2012 season saw her competing in the regional final of the English Schools track & field Cup, where she was placed 4th in the shot event.
2013 was Sophie’s first full competitive season. She represented the Kingston junior team in their UK Youth Development League campaign, seeing action in the shot, discus and javelin throws. At the Humberside Schools Championships she won the shot putt gold medal and was the silver medallist in the discus throw. Further County recognition came at the Northern Inter County Championships, which were held at Kingston’s home ground at Costello, where she competed in the shot event. A further representative call came for the Young Athletes Inter Counties match in Derby, where she picked up a silver medal in the discus and a bronze in the shot.
The 2014 track and field season saw her turn 15, which brought a move up to the under 17 age group and she also moved up to the Kingston Youth Team. She also qualified for selection for the Kingston Senior Team, which competes in Division One of the Northern League. She gave excellent service to both teams throughout that season, which saw her competing, not only in the shot, discus and javelin, but also trying her hand in the hammer competition. In the Championship competitions she represented her county, in the shot final at the English Schools Championships, at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium, a huge learning experience for Sophie, taking on the best throwers in the country. The Humberside Championships saw her win the gold medals, in both the discus and shot events. At the Humberside Schools Championships she was the silver medallist in the shot competition. At the Northern Championships, in Wigan, she competed in the discus and shot finals, taking 6th place in both. At the National Finals, at the International Stadium in Bedford, she contested the shot final, in what was a very strong field, finishing 10th. The Northern Inter Counties meeting in Derby saw her claim the bronze medal in the shot event.
The 2015 track & Field season saw Sophie put more emphasis on the discus event. She was a discus finalist at both the English Schools and at the National Championships. At the English Schools event, this year in Gateshead, she finished in the top eight, and at the National finals, which were once again held in Bedford, she gave a good account of herself. The Humberside County Championships saw Sophie take gold medals in both the shot and the discus competitions, and she repeated the feat at the Humberside Schools Championships, with two more gold’s in shot and discus. She pulled on a county vest once again, at the Northern Inter Counties meeting in Blackburn, where she saw action in both the shot and discus events. Sophie was also kept busy throughout the season in the league matches with both the youth team and the senior team, on their travels throughout Northern England.
When asked about her goals and ambitions for the 2016 season, Sophie told me:-
“To gain the English Schools qualification standard, get selected, and then to hopefully win a medal”
“To medal at the Northern’s” (championships)
“To defend my Humberside County and Humberside Schools titles”.
