Continuing the theme of profiling Preston’s up-and-coming stars, Christopher Park interviews another hopeful looking ahead to 2012. While other teenage girls look forward to hanging out with their friends at the weekend, 17 year-old Danielle Rooney she has her mind set on just one thing – the 2012 Olympics. Danielle has just been signed by Sale Harriers athletics club, and hopes one day to emulate stars like Kelly Holmes and Paula Radcliffe by representing Great Britain at major international tournaments. “Athletics is what I want to do – it’s in my heart”, she says. Danielle trains five times a week with the Harriers, and admits that her busy schedule of sport, work and college makes it hard to fit in a social life. She has no other hobbies, she tells me, simply because she doesn’t have time for them, and they could compromise her fitness. With all this time taken up with training and college I asked her what the people close to her think about it all: “My parents are fully supportive and they help me out a lot. It’s harder when it comes to college work but the teachers are very understanding. If I do the work as soon as I get it, it works out fine.” She attended Priory Sports and Technology College before going to Preston College to study A-Levels. With no immediate plans to go to university, Danielle definitely has a one track mind. As well as competing, she aims to get a part time job after college and hopes her PE, Biology, Chemistry and Psychology A-Levels will help her get into sports coaching. She currently lives with her parents in Much Hoole, Preston. Danielle seems to know what she is doing and is very committed to what she wants from her career. She is already well on the way to London 2012. She holds the England schools record for 75 meters hurdles (10.99 seconds), and her 80 meters personal best is a very impressive 11.29 seconds. She has competed in a number of events already and won many medals and caps for her country. Danielle began doing gymnastics at the age of four, but when she was at high school her talent for athletics was spotted: “I was always beating everyone on sports days, including the boys. The teachers told parents that I should join a club because I had a lot of potential.” That was when she decided to turn away from gymnastics and joined Preston Harriers Athletics Club. Danielle’s will next compete in an open competition at Loughborough in June where she will take part in her first 100 meters hurdles event. She has high hopes for this tournament: “This competition will give me experience in hurdling. If I do well here and at the North of England Competition and the England Athletic Championships I can hopefully push on and get my Great Britain kit.” At 17, she is one of the youngest in her under 20 age group, and often competes against athletes two years older than her. Before the Olympics, Danielle looks forward to representing England at the Commonwealth Youth Games in October.
If she does well in Pune, India, it will be another major step towards gaining that Great Britain kit. Danielle admits that she is looking forward to the Games for another reason. Her training commitments mean that she doesn’t get away on holiday as much as she would like. “They send you over a couple of weeks before the tournament to acclimatise, so I will be spending about three weeks over there, so it will be a bit of a holiday for me as well.” After meeting Danielle I definitely see a committed athlete, even at such a young age. She is certainly a future star and we will see her gracing the track at the London Olympic Games, if not earlier.
