A world champion at junior level, Heather Fell’s early career as a senior was blighted by a series of shin injuries and considered leaving the sport in 2006. Her decision to continue bore fruit in 2007 when she placed second at the European Championships and won a gold medal as part of the British relay team. She won her first World Cup event at the beginning of 2008 and then produced a consistent run of results that put her amongst the favourites for the Olympic title. At Beijing she produced a solid range of performances over the five sports and finished in the silver medal position behind Lena Schöneborn of Germany. Fell repeated her European Championship silver medal performance in 2009 and has been a solid performer on the world scene ever since although she has not yet added another major medal. She has worked as a swimming coach, physiotherapist, barmaid and broadcaster to fund her Olympic aspirations.
Great Britain