There were more than a few hurdles in front of Sarah Claxton on her way to securing her place as Colchester's top sporting personality of 2005.

Honoured - Sarah Claxton's award was accepted by her mother Althea from Colchester's mayor Terry Sutton. (47693-29)

Fortunately clearing hurdles is what Claxton does best and her prowess over 60 metres indoors and 100 metres outdoors has seen the Colchester athletic star catch more than just local eyes.

A move from the long jump to concentrate fully on the hurdles two years ago has paid dividends for Claxton and last year she sealed her place as the number one female hurdler in the country.

Claxton, was unable to collect the Premier Award last night at Colchester's Moot Hall ceremony. Her proud mother Althea collected the prize on her behalf.

The year started perfectly for the flying 26-year-old by shaving 0.02 seconds off her personal best at an indoor event in Loughborough and it then got better as she broke the UK record two weeks later with a run of 7.98 seconds becoming the first British woman to break the eight-second barrier.

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Published Tuesday, February 7, 2006

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