ONE of St Helens' most successful athletes has decided to retire from competitive athletics due to ongoing injury.

Ann Griffiths started running at the age of 10 and quickly established herself as a future champion with victories in county championships both in track and cross country and at 12 her championship record time was almost three seconds faster than the senior ladies race.

After moving from Pilkington Harriers to Sutton Harriers, Ann concentrated on 400 metres for a while and in 1982 she won the prestigious English Schools Championships in a record time of 55 seconds.

Her future though lay in middle-distance running and as she moved through to the senior ranks, the now Sale Harrier recorded several wins in the UK and AAAs championships.

A Great Britain regular for a number of years, Ann had the distinction of appearing in every major championships event, including Olympics, Commonwealth Games, World and European Championships, along with almost every Grand Prix meeting.

The struggle to find a sponsor in a predominantly Rugby Leaguue town meant that she never enjoyed the benefits of becoming a full-time professional. But after her marriage to fellow local athlete John Griffiths, Ann gave up her job at Pilkingtons to concentrate on her training.

Some of the highlights of a glittering career were a silver medal in the Commonwealth Games in New Zealand, a seventh place in the World Championships in Japan, a fourth in the European Championships and a glorious win in the Rome Grand Prix.

Ann's dedication and hard work helped her to remain at the top of British athletics for more than a decade and she is still one of only a handful of women to run 800 metres in under two minutes.

Strongly tipped to go on to become one of the world's best 1500 metre runners, Ann's rigorous training schedule has been hampered by a niggling back injury since the birth of son William in 1998 forcing her to reluctantly call time on her long and successful running career.