Mary’s complete set

Southampton Athletic Club president, Mary Axtell is celebrating winning a complete set of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals in the category for female athletes over 75 years of age at the European Masters Athletics Championships in Copenhagen . Mary's treasure hunt started on Saturday 29th July with Bronze in the 100 metres. That was former PE teacher Mary's first international medal in a career that began in the 1950s and being guided in earlier years by coaching great, the late Mike Smith. Clearly enjoying the glint of precious metal, Mary was by now on a roll. Just a few days later, she was back on track, claiming a silver in the 200 metres before combining with her GB team mates to win gold in the sprint relay. Mary is an inspiration to everyone at the club and in particular to the younger sprinters with her dedication to training, even accompanying her group, many of whom are teenagers,  for a warm weather training trip to Crete this year, perseverance in the face of injury and steely competitiveness. Mary is in no mood to retire just yet, already serving notice to her coaching team that she has set her sights on the European indoor Masters Championships to be held in March 2018 in Madrid. Sara & Gary MacDonald-Gray Mary with her medals