Michelle Handley is going for gold with the Great Britain Ladies rugby league side after being awarded valuable sponsorship.

Michelle Handley

The 32-year-old York Acorn ladies prop forward was called up to the national side for the first time last month and must undergo 18 months of intense training to get her in peak condition for the Tri-Nations tournament next year.

She soon realised in her initial training session that she had a long way to but she is up for the challenge, boosted by the offer of help from Edmund Wilson Pool in Acomb who have given her a Gold Card for 18 months to allow her free use of the newly-equipped gymnasium and swimming pool.

Describing that torturous training at Dewsbury's Ram Stadium, Handley said: "The other girls have been at that level for a long time. My fitness was terrible. We warmed up and to me that was like a training session!

"But I'm looking forward to it. It's a challenge. I've got a 10-week training programme and I'll be reassessed after that."

She has already seen a sports phsycologist as part of the GB preparations and joins up with the squad again for the next training session on May 23 before a fitness test on June 5.

She intends to put the Gold Card to good use straight a way to train three or four days a week in her bid to make the Great Britain side which will take on Australia and New Zealand on home soil in September 2000.

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