Athlete Profile: Phoebe Clayton

Name

Phoebe Clayton

Course and Year of Study

Human Sciences (1st Year)

College

Wadham

Sport

Athletics

Club

Notts AC and Oxford University Athletics Club

Highest Competition Level

International

Best Achievement

Representing GB in the 4x100m relay at the European U20 Championships 2025

Short Term Aspirations

My short term aspirations are to win medals at both the indoor and outdoor BUCS Championships in the 2026 athletics season

Long Term Aspirations

In the long term, I aspire to represent GB at a senior international level and medal at major championships. Alongside this, I would love to use my Human Science knowledge to better understand the development of female athletes and the disadvantages I believe that women in sport face

How did you get into the sport?

I first got into athletics by taking part in the cross country club at my primary school. I soon learned that I much preferred running for a maximum of 30 seconds and joined my local athletics club where I began sprinting and long jumping. Athletics has now been the biggest part of my life for the last 8 years

What is your advice on balancing sport and academia?

In my personal experience, I am much more productive when I have a busy schedule and going to training may be reliant on me having completed an academic task earlier in the day. Therefore, balancing sport and academia in ways makes my life easier as it helps me plan my days in detail and the knowledge that I don't have much free time gives me extra motivation to complete tasks proactively and efficiently. Training is also something I massively look forward to in my day, and exercise helps my headspace for studying and general mental health. At times when things feel overwhelming, my advice is to use your support system and remember that you don't have to tackle everything on your own