Starlet Zoe Gilbody is keeping busy

The 13-year-old enjoyed a stellar cross country season before being denied the chance to showcase her prowess on the track due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Zoe’s athletics campaign may have failed to take flight but mum, Gayle, has been hard at work ensuring her daughter’s competitive streak remains intact.

A few weeks ago, Gayle organised the Paired Decathlon Challenge which pitted duos, including Zoe, of athletes against each other as they competed in a variety of events.

“I wanted the decathlon to be competitive but also fun,” said Gayle. “Twenty four athletes from across the country took part and everyone was randomly paired together.

“It wasn’t solely on long distance ability. There was a plank hold, a standing long jump and some shorter running distances were included.

“I didn’t want it to be clear cut, a case of people won’t take part because so and so were going to win, but here, nobody had an inkling who would come out on top.

“Not necessarily the best runner of the group was going to win. I tried to give everyone an equal chance. It wasn’t a forgone conclusion.

“There were a lot of tactics involved. Two weeks to do five events each and send the results into me.

“It was a case of trying to come up with your best score, working with what they had. There were people using treadmills who couldn’t get out.

“We had one girl hold the flamingo pose for over half-an-hour, one leg on a brick, hands on hips. Clearly she has a hidden talent!”

Zoe and her partner Emily Gapper, from Wenlock, finished third in the decathlon but that’s not the only competition the Prestfelde school pupil has faced during lockdown.

Training with siblings Charlotte, 16, and Cody, 10, has presented Zoe with a daily challenge, one which has softened the blow of missing out on the World Biathle Championships.

“Zoe has been very positive through all of it,” said Gayle. “It’s lucky that she has her brother and sister she trains with.

“That definitely helps motivation, they all run together and so Zoe never has to run on her own.

“Obviously we were looking forward to the world’s in Germany. She would have been top of the age this year and last year Zoe finished third. The two girls that beat her were the year older, potentially she had a good chance this year of taking the title.

“But Zoe doesn’t take it too seriously. She loves to run but her whole world doesn’t revolve around running. She doesn’t target races.

“It was a shame that so many competitions were cancelled but there may still be a few in August.

“We still have some hopes that they can have something recorded and the track season isn’t completely written off.”