Sophie Hitchon extends British hammer record in California
- Published
Hitchon believes ballet has helped her hammer technique
Sophie Hitchon has extended her British hammer record to 71.61m.
The 20-year-old twice threw the Olympic 'A' standard distance at a meeting in California.
"I feel really good and training has gone really well. It's just really good to repeat it in competition," said Burnley-born Hitchon.
"The 'A' standard takes the pressure off. The last few competitions I tried too hard but now I can relax and compete to the best of my abilities."
Hitchon's coach, Derek Evely, added: "She's been throwing 70m-plus daily. We just needed to let it happen in competition.
"I think 72 or 73m is not out of the question this year."
Betty Heidler of Germany holds the current world record of 79.42m, set last year.