Posts Tagged ‘Lisa dobriskey’

Funding for athletes

October 29th, 2009 by News Desk
Vicky Silk

Vicky Silk

TWO Ashford Athletic Club athletes have been earmarked for glory with inclusion in UK Athletics’ World Class Performance Programme for the 2009/10 season.

Olympic and Commonwealth runner Lisa Dobriskey has been included in the Podium funding programme while young Vicky Silk from Folkestone will get funding from the Development programme.

 The programme, which runs annually from December to November, is split into two levels of funding; Podium and Development, each with strict criteria and standards which must be met in selection and maintained with the support of UKA staff.

Lisa, the former Southlands pupil from New Romney, now lives in Loughborough but maintains her affiliation with Ashford AC and has risen to be a medal contender in middle distance running despite battling through several testing injuries.

She first showed her class winning the Commonwealth Games 1500m gold and is now a strong medal prospect for the Olympics after her World Championship silver medal this year. Another major breakthrough was beating the four minute barrier for the first time for 1500m in Zurich in August.

Vicky has continued to impress as a multi talented disability athlete to earn her place on the Development funding programme targeting the Paralympics.

The bubbly Folkestone teenager recently took two golds and a silver at the World Dwarf Games in Belfast and is a talented field athlete doing discus, javelin and shot putt.

Dobriskey second in all-time list

September 1st, 2009 by News Desk

ASHFORD Athletic Club’s Lisa Dobriskey showed she is right back in form after her injury worries setting the second fastest 1500m time ever by a UK woman and a personal best in the Weltklasse IAAF Golden League meeting in Zurich.

She confirmed her world class by going under four minutes for the first time with a brilliant 3:59.50 which puts her only second to Kent’s Kelly Holmes in the UK all-time list having clocked 3:57.90 back in 2004.

Lisa was held to third place in Zurich edged out again by world champion Maryam Jamal from Bahrain and American Anna Willard with less than four tenths of a second covering the top three.

But the girl from New Romney came back to a winner’s welcome romping to victory two days later in the Aviva British Grand Prix meeting at Gateshead.

A relatively slow race saw her clock 4:13.60 but it was enough to earn Dobriskey the win over Slovakia Sonja Roman and England’s Hannah England.

Dobriskey ran her usual tactical race showing a new found confidence and vigour following her World Championship silver medal success.

Aviva UK Champion Charlene Thomas (Wakefield) took an early lead running confidently, the result of fine form in 2009. Dobriskey, who had manoeuvred herself into favourable position at the bell, moved up to challenge Erin Donohue (USA) who had taken the lead with one lap to go. At 200m Dobriskey gained the edge, powering through despite a challenge by England (Oxford) who was pipped to second place on the line by the Slovakian. Roman ran4:14.41 and England 4:14:45.
Dobriskey said: “Fantastic. I was so worried before. I didn’t want to come here and finish second or third, I wanted to celebrate properly and give the crowd something to cheer for. It’s been crazy since Berlin. I don’t think it’s had a chance to sink in yet. It was amazing to run so fast in Zurich and it’s phenomenal to be just behind Kelly Holmes on the UK all-time list.”