The ‘land of the free’ will be home to one of north Norfolk’s most promising young athletes for the next four years. 

Hattie Reynolds, 18, is heading to the USA to take up an athletic scholarship at Elon University in North Carolina.

Hattie has just returned from a trip to Jerusalem to compete against Europe's top Under 20 steeplechasers.

She acquitted herself well in the heats and finished mid-field in the final, in 10th place. 

Tim Ash from the North Norfolk Harriers Athletics Club said: “A superb effort taking into account her very limited steeplechase experience.”

Hattie’s progress in athletics has come on in leaps and bounds since she was doing the Blickling Park Run in her early teenage years.

Mr Ash said: “An impressive second-place finish in the English Under 20 National Cross-Country Championships in early 2022 took Hattie's competitive racing to a new level from which she has never looked back. 

“In January 2023 she received her first of two England cross country call-ups to compete in Belgium finishing in fourth and second places respectively.”

Given her natural hurdling ability, she focused on the 3000m steeplechase for this year’s summer track season.

In her first race, she was the first Under 20 to cross the line clocking 10min 45.1secs for a third-place finish. 

“To her delight, her debut steeplechase gained her selection for Great Britain juniors at the Loughborough International, placing third with a  time of 10min 32.92sec. 

“In early June in only her third race over the barriers she won the England Under 20 Championship when posting 10min 31.83secs.”

Hattie sealed selection in the GB team for the European Championships In Cardiff in June, finishing the race with a time of 10min 20.70secs.