Shara Proctor, the current British record holder for the long jump and a member of Team GB, on Friday, August 10, visited Slough to celebrate her achievements with the Mayor and members of the local Anguillian community there.

Shara, an Anguillian by birth, was a popular athlete in the just-ended Olympics inLondon. She has been competing in the long jump since in 2006. Just recently, in 2012, she won her first senior medal forGreat Britain, a Bronze medal in the Long Jump in the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships. That was when she achieved a British national jump record of 6.89 metres.

Her longest jump outdoors is 6.95 metres in the long jump, achieved in June 2012 in Birmingham; and 13.74 metres in the triple jump, achieved in May 2009 in Greensboro. She holds the national long jump records for Anguilla andGreat Britain.

Members of the Anguillian Diaspora Community in Slough were on hand to celebrate Shara’s achievements at an official reception held in our honour last week Friday.

At the reception, Shara met with the Mayor of Slough, Councillor Christine Small, and was presented with the newly-established Transmarinis Award from the Government of Anguilla’s UK Representative, Dorothea Hodge.

Minister of the overseas territories, Mr. Henry Bellingham gave Shara a tour of the Great Pavilion. It is a  temporary pavilion that has been set up within the Foreign Office to highlight the UK’s hosting of the Olympics and featuring a number of related exhibits including an Olympic Torch.  After the meeting, Mr Bellingham and Shara met in his office and discussed Shara’s accomplishments over a cup-of-tea.  Shara was then given tour of the Foreign Office.

Speaking after his meeting with Shara Proctor, Henry Bellingham, Minister for the Overseas Territories, said:

“It was a great pleasure for me to welcome Shara Proctor to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office today to congratulate her on reaching the Olympic final in the women’s long jump.  Shara Proctor’s achievement is a success for both the UK and for Anguilla, the British Overseas Territory where she was born and brought up.  Because Anguilla does not have its own Olympic Committee, Shara competes for Team GB – and we are very proud to have her.

“Shara Proctor made her debut representingGreat Britainat the European Team Championships in June 2011.  Since then she has gone from strength to strength, winning bronze in the IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships and setting new British indoor and outdoor long-jump records.  Although Shara is only 23, she has already jumped further than any other long-jumper representing theUK.  I am confident she will jump further yet, and I know that her experiences at the London Olympics will stand her in good stead for future international success including, I hope, at the Rio Olympics in 2016.

“Britain’s ties with Anguilla go back several centuries and most Anguillians, like Shara, are British nationals.   We enjoy a good relationship with the Government of Anguilla, and I look forward to meeting the Chief Minister again later this year to discuss the implementation of theUK’s White Paper on theOverseasTerritories‘Security, Success and Sustainability’,  which seeks to foster even stronger links with and support for the Territories. 

“In the meantime, I hope the people of both Anguilla and the UK will continue to celebrate the accomplishments already made by Shara, and I’m confident that her achievements will inspire young people in theUKand inAnguillato take up athletics and other sports.”

– Press Release