At the age of just seven, Molly Newton O’Brien already had dreams of one day becoming a Heptathlon champion and when the York student watched her idol, Jessica Ennis-Hill, win gold at London 2012 it only confirmed her aspirations. Last week, Molly took a step closer to achieving her dream when she won Silver at the English Schools’ Athletics Association U20 
Heptathlon in Exeter. Like Molly, Ennis-Hill established herself as one of Britain’s top junior athletes with success in the English Schools’ competitions before she took to the world stage.
The Queen Margaret’s student went into the weekend competition with the aim of finishing in the top six, after all, at just seventeen this was Molly’s first U20 competition and some of her fellow competitors were up to two years older. She began well, winning the High Jump section with a near technically perfect jump of 1.68m. Her Shotput section did not begin as planned but she had a good third throw which compensated. She finished Day One with a 26.05 second Personal Best in the 200m to leave her in a good position overnight. Day Two saw Molly scoop another Personal Best in the Javelin with a 34.32m throw which moved her up to bronze position, before a real battle to win the 800 meter race secured her silver medal and a place on the podium. Molly’s mother Carrie tells us, “Molly’s performance at the weekend was a result of sheer grit and determination, she is very humble about her success but we are all incredibly proud”.
Molly has her sights set on the European Championships next year, in what will already be an extremely busy year as she takes her A Levels and hopes to go to university. Queen Margaret’s Director of Sport, Anne Davies, agrees that Molly will go far “Last year Molly was awarded Senior Athlete of the Year at the Lancaster & Morecombe Athletic Club, and last weekend’s competition really has taken her success to the next level. I’ve seen first-hand just how hard Molly works at her sport and her silver at the English Schools’ U20 Heptathlon is extremely well deserved”.