OUR Olympic team may not have broken many records in Athens, but one little girl from Chorley has shown them how it's done by setting her own British record.
Shireen Durnan-Woods, nine, became the youngest Brit to climb Mount Olympus and celebrated with a guided tour of the Olympic Village.
Little Shireen scaled the 10,000ft peak in 19 hours, including a night camping on the Greek mountain, cheered on by climbers from across the world.
Dad Anthony Woods, a builder who accompanies Shireen, of Stratford Road, Chorley, on all her climbs, said: "The climb is easy until the last 200m when you have to climb on the mountain's face at a pitch of 45 degrees.
"Shireen was roped in on all exposed parts, knowing one mistake and it was a 9,000ft drop.
"She was composed and showed no fear. A team trying to reach the summit at the same time gave her plenty of encouragement, but a rock dislodged by Shireen went crashing down, just missing an Israeli climber.
"They then stayed below Shireen at all times, for fear of the same thing happening to her."
The Highfield Primary School pupil has already broken one British record, as well as walking the length of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal and completing the Three Peaks challenge in 24-hours.
On her latest challenge, timed to coincide with the Olympic Games, Shireen was cheered on by other climbers from Israel, Germany, France, Mexico, America, Italy and Canada, who let out a cheer when she reached the summit.
But superstitious Shireen decided not to hoist the Union Jack for fear of upsetting the Greek Gods and spoiling the chances of the British Olympic Team.
After the climb, the youngster was treated to a VIP tour of the Olympic Village by British officials in specially chartered buggies. They presented her with a mascot teddy wearing a gold medal and British sports top.
Anthony said: "Shireen's achievements are down to hard training and personal sacrifices.
"She weighs little more than four stone, but carries more than one stone in mountain survival kit.
"Mount Olympus was a great challenge and has made Shireen think about completing some other major climbs soon."
cap:
ON TOP OF THE WORLD
ON FORM: Shireen is the youngest Brit to reach the peak of Mount Olympus
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