Jersey sports star hits pause on career

Saturday 05 October 2019

A Jersey netball champ has announced she’ll be taking an “elongated break” from the England team after revealing she suffered glandular fever ahead of the summer World Cup.

In a statement, the Roses’ noted captain Serena Guthrie’s (29) “exceptionally busy four-year cycle”, as they confirmed she would be taking some time to rest and explore other opportunities off the court”.

It comes after the former Le Rocquier student led the team to claim bronze at the World Cup held in Liverpool in July – an achievement preceded by a gold medal-winning victory at the Commonwealth Games the year before.

Pictured: Local netball star Serena and the England team.

The third-place positioning at the World Cup came despite the centre suffering a bout of glandular fever lasting six months earlier in the year, she said in an interview with BBC Sport this week.

“It wasn't great in a World Cup year to get that news," the local Sports Personality of the Year winner recalled.

Sara Symington, Performance Director at England Netball, said the team fully backed Serena’s decision to “take some time away from the Roses programme in 19/20 and for the next Superleague season.”

When we say the Vitality Roses give everything, we mean EVERYTHING!! #ItsUsItsNow #RosesRISING pic.twitter.com/3uaBLpNT20

— England Netball (@EnglandNetball) July 15, 2019

“She has been a vital part of the Vitality Roses cohort since 2009 and more recently successfully captained the team to the podium at the Vitality Netball World Cup, so it will be sad not to see her in action with the Roses in the immediate future. However we know it’s important to always put the players’ needs at the forefront of everything we do and understand Serena’s desire to take an extended break and recovery for a year,” she continued.

The Director was clear, however, that this was only a ‘pause’ for Serena – and “by no means a retirement announcement.”

“…She is just taking some time away. We completely respect her wishes and hope to see her back on the court soon.”

Pictured top: Serena helping England bounce back from a semi-final defeat to beat South Africa and secure a bronze medal in this summer’s World Cup. (PA)