Grace scoops South of England gold

The Hastings-based Aldershot, Farnham & District athlete won the girls’ 1,500m at Watford in a season’s best time of 4:34.

Baker cruised through her heat to secure her place in the final, showing great maturity to ease down in the final 100m. But the next day was very different.

After a quick first lap, the Rye College student made her way through to third place. With two laps gone, Baker put in a kick to separate the first three from the chasing pack.

She held the lead until 10m to go when Windsor, Slough & Eton athlete Rebecca Killip came past her, prompting Baker to surge again to cross the line and win by half-a-second.

This gold medal adds to the previous weekend’s bronze won in the 3,000m at the English Schools Track & Field Championships in Gateshead.

Baker said: “My track season got off to a bit of a slow start as I had to prioritise my GCSEs, but now they are out of the way I expect to put in some personal best performances before the end of the summer.”