| Helen Clitheroe (née Pattinson) | |
| Club: | Preston Harriers |
| Birth Date: | 2 January 1974 |
| Birth Place: |  Preston, Lancashire, UK |
| Weight: | 57kg (126lb) |
| Pb: | 1500 m: 4:01.10 3000 m: 8:51.02 3000 m steeplechase: 9:29.14 5000 m: 15:06.75 10000 m: 31:45[1] |
| Updated: | 6-03-2011 |
Helen Teresa Clitheroe (née Pattinson) (born 2 January 1974 in Preston, England) is a former British middle and long-distance runner.[2]
She competed in the 1500 m at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney and in the 3000 m steeplechase at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.[3]
She represented England in the 1,500 metres event, at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.[4] [5] Four years later she was the 1500 m bronze medallist at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.[6]
She achieved the Olympic A qualifying standard for the 3000 m steeplechase at the Meeting Iberoamericano, in Huelva on 13 June 2008, where she finished eighth in a time of 9:43.56.[7] Her place in the British team for the Games was confirmed when she won the British trials in a new national record time of 9:36.98.[8] At the Games she finished sixth in her heat and did not advance to the next round of competition, despite beating her own national record with a time of 9:29.14.[9] At the 2008 IAAF World Athletics Final, in Stuttgart, Clitheroe placed 9th in the 3000 m steeplechase in a time of 9:39.72.[10]
She completed a spell of high-altitude training in Iten, Kenya and then came close to a 3000 m lifetime best at the Aviva International Match in January 2011, finishing with a stadium record run.[11] [12] The May 2011 Great Manchester Run saw her produce a career best for the 10K as she completed a dominant performance to win the race in a time of 31:45 minutes.[13] She set herself a similar target at the European Cup 10000m in June 2011, but suffered in hot conditions and finished in fourth with a time of 32:11.29 minutes.[14]
She continued working in the Industry as a coach, and during 2022 was coaching with the New Balance team at Manchester, working as personal coach to Ciara Mageean during her very successful 2022 season.