Not content with breaking world records and winning over 30 events this year, Gill Prescott is now through to the finals of the Northern Echo Local Heroes Awards 2013. Gill won the Sporting Achievement of the Year Award at the County Durham Sports Awards in October and has now been shortlisted for the Award for Outstanding Performance in the regional awards, which will be announced on 5th December.
We’re all aware of how phenomenal Gill is, but it is great to see her achievements being recognised by a broader audience across the North East. It’s also a great acknowledgement of the time and expertise that Geoff Graham, Gill’s Coach has provided to her training over the 7 years that Gill has been competing.
On being nominated Gill said “It is lovely to receive this recognition however I am just doing something I really enjoy!!… but I hope it will give the sport and the club some good publicity and Geoff the recognition he deserves as a first class coach”.
Just to recap, Gill’s achievements for this year have included:
- Winning the British Indoor Rowing Championships for the seventh time.
- Breaking her own world record for an indoor 2k
- 3 Gold Medals at the British Masters
- 2 wins at Henley Masters Regatta and
- 5 at the World Masters in Varese in September
She has been an inspiration for rowers across the club and is a target for many of those DARC members discovering rowing later in life. If only we could achieve half of her commitment! Geoff and Gill’s dedication to the sport has motivated others to aim for and achieve success at all levels of competition and they continue to set the standard for focus and strength in training for us all.
So, good luck to Gill at the Awards on the 5th and well done to Geoff for all his commitment to ensuring Gill performs at her very best. They are already heroes to every member of DARC, if only there was a voting button…