Belgrave Harrier Naomi Toft struggled to hide her delight after picking up a prestigious title at the Vitality Westminster Mile on Sunday.
Toft, 12, had a day to remember this weekend as she completed an iconic mile around London’s famous landmarks.
And she had a particular reason to smile after coming home first in the girls under-13 category of the Junior British Athletics 1 Mile Road Championships in a time of five minutes and 16 seconds.
Organised by London Marathon Events Limited, in partnership with Westminster City Council and building on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Vitality Westminster Mile starts on The Mall and finishes in front of Buckingham Palace.
It features categories for all ages and abilities and this year saw six-time Paralympic Champion David Weir become the first wheelchair racer to dip under three minutes for the mile distance.
Toft meanwhile was delighted the leave her own mark at this year’s event.
“At the start, I was maybe fifth or sixth and behind the big group of people and then at 800m I started to push on a bit,” she said.
“I was second and then sprinted the last 100m.
“I started running when I was ten, and then I joined a club but I’ve recently switched. I train at Belgrave. I’m a 1500m runner.
“I really think this is such a great event, it’s really fun and you can do it with families.
“It’s my first time here. I want to become a really good 1500m runner, I’ll be watching the Olympics this summer.”
There was further success for Belgrave Harriers with Nick Goolab taking the win in the Senior British Athletics 1 Mile Road Championships.
Goolab clocked four minutes 01 seconds – the same time as Andrew Butchart and hundredth of a second faster than Tom Marshall – but was handed the win on a photo finish.
The Vitality Westminster Mile is held on the most iconic mile in the world, starting on The Mall and finishing in front of Buckingham Palace. For more information, visit www.vitalitywestminstermile.co.uk
