City boxer Frances Heath to train with Great Britain in Sheffield

Meadowbank boxer Frances Heath is a step closer to following in the footsteps of idol Nicola Adams.
Frances Heath won 46kg silver at the British Junior Championships in CardiffFrances Heath won 46kg silver at the British Junior Championships in Cardiff
Frances Heath won 46kg silver at the British Junior Championships in Cardiff

The 15-year-old Castlebrae High School pupil recently won 46kg silver at the British Junior Championships in Cardiff and has since received an invite to train with the Great Britain boxing team at the Institute of Sport in Sheffield – where professional Adams once trained as an up and coming amateur.

It’s a remarkable feat for the teenager, who has only contested four fights since taking up the sport in October 2017 after watching former Olympic champion Adams on television.

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“I’ll be going down to Sheffield at the beginning of July so I can’t wait for that,” Frances explained. “I didn’t expect to be invited down so it’s a good opportunity for me. It will be a training camp for a couple of days for them to have a good look at me. I’m just going down there to give it my all.”

On her success in the Welsh Capital where she only lost out to England’s Shelby-Marie Lee, Frances added: “I had it in my mindset that I was just going down to gain experience as I’m fairly new to that level. I gave it my all and it turned out to be a really close fight against a very tough opponent. I really enjoy boxing and love training.

“I’m sitting at the lowest weight category of 46kg so it’s difficult to get fights. I’ll probably try and move up soon. I just want to get better and learn new things. I’ve been training since I got back from Cardiff because I need to be ready to fight whenever I get the call.

“I’ve been training alongside Jason [Easton] and his coach Gary [Young] and they were helping me a lot in the build-up to the British.”

Frances’ dad Frankie added: “Frances is really hard on herself and puts herself down but she’s done fantastic. It’s not as if everyone gets to go and train at the GB Boxing base in Sheffield.”