The next Paula Radcliffe?

Actually, I hate those sort of headlines with a passion! How many times over the years have we read about 'the next George Best' or 'the next Ian Botham'? Generally, such tags serve only to put unnecessary pressure on talented young sportsmen and women as well as often insulting the people they are alleged to be following into stardom.

But as the great Paula Radcliffe approaches what we hope will be the crowning glory of her career in Beijing later this year, there are several brilliant young talents emerging in British athletics, especially among the female ranks. Perhaps the most outstanding of them all is an 18 year old by the name of Stephanie Twell. Her name will already be familiar to those who follow the athletics scene closely after producing a string of superb performances at European and World level as a junior, both on the track and over the country. However, it's probably fair to say that she is not yet well known to the public at large. After today, that is surely about to change.

This afternoon she took part in the BUPA Great Edinburgh Cross Country event which was televised live on the BBC. Although still plenty young enough to compete in the Junior Ladies race she elected to run in the Senior race, and finished 4th behind an Ethiopian and 2 Kenyans who are all among the best track and cross country runners in the world. She only just missed out on 3rd, losing out by inches in a sprint finish to Vivian Cheruiyot, the Kenyan who won the silver medal at the World Championships 5000 metres in Osaka last year. For an 18 year old this was a phenomenal performance, and she comprehensively beat all the established British seniors including Liz Yelling and Hayley Yelling.

She has talent and determination by the bucketful and can look forward to the World Cross Country Championships in March (also in Edinburgh) and the Olympics later in the year with great optimism. At the moment her specialist track event is the 1500m but I suspect it won't be too long before she becomes a world-class 5000m runner.

The future of women's athletics especially looks very healthy in Great Britain at the moment. Is there any particular reason why the women's side of the sport is presently so strong, and why so many talented youngsters have come onto the scene in recent years? In my opinion the reason is very obvious and can be summed up in 2 words: Paula Radcliffe! Paula is likely to remain the undisputed Number 1 for a little while yet, but if you don't know the name now let me remind you again of a name that you will be hearing a lot more of in the next few years - Stephanie Twell.