SICHEL GETS GREAT BRITAIN CALL UP

Orkney ultra distance runner William Sichel has been selected by UK Athletics to run in the Great Britain team competing in the first World/European 24hr Championships in Holland on October 11th and 12th.

William has pointed out that this is not an age group or veterans team but the main senior team and selection is open to anyone over the age of 21 who has approached the qualifying standard of 136.70miles/220kms in 24hrs.

William qualified for consideration for selection when competing in Basle, Switzerland last May when he covered 135.9 miles to finish 4th overall, his best performance for 3 years. This was considered good enough to earn selection.

This will be William’s 11th Great Britain appearance. He made his debut in 1996 in the World 100km Championships in Moscow and went on to earn a total of 7 Great Britian ‘vests’ at the 100km distance and now this will be his fourth in the 24hr event.

Last December William set new Guinness World Records for both 100 miles and 24hrs on the treadmill. William was voted Orkney’s first ‘Sportsman of the Year’ in November 2000. He is a member of the Orkney Athletic Club. With his wife, Elizabeth, he runs the Orkney Angora mail order knitwear business in Sanday, Orkney.

William is grateful to sponsors Orkney Meat (main sponsor), The Ayre Hotel, Loganair, The Orcadian and Crantit Dairy (Orkney Ice Cream).

Making contact:

William Sichel, Upper Breckan, Sanday, Orkney KW17 2AZ. Tel/Fax: 01857 600421. Mobile (whilst travelling only) 0794 128 3506. william@williamsichel.co.uk Running web site: http://www.williamsichel.co.uk/

Photographs:

Newsline Scotland (Press Agency). Tel 01224 594000. photos@newsline-scotland.co.uk

Ken Amer, Orkney Photographic. Tel 01856 873574, Mobile 07808 961780 info@orkneyphotographic.co.uk

William Sichel, ‘Free to use’ photographs can be down loaded from my on-line photo album. Go to: http://www.williamsichel.co.uk/ and click on ‘Photos’.

8/9/03