TEENAGE hurdler Hayley McLean battled her way through gale-force winds to win a silver medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games.

McLean, right, revealed her main aim was just to stay on her feet during a brutal 400m hurdles final at the championships on the Isle of Man.

The Irish Sea island was buffeted by the tail-end of hurricane Katia, making McLean’s race as much a battle against the elements as against her other competitors.

But the Stanford-le-Hope youngster dug deep and celebrated her 17th birthday by coming home second in 61.76s.

“The wind was so strong, it was awful,” said McLean, a student at Palmer’s College. “It was a minus-eight headwind so it was just a case of battling through it.

“My main aim was just to keep on my feet and it was a very messy race. I think one of the girls went down after hitting a hurdle too hard.

“The stadium was quite open and with about 200m to go the wind really hit you. In the end the time was not as good as I would have wanted, but given those conditions, it was not too bad and I was delighted with the medal.”

And the teenager was cheered on all the way by her mum and dad and coach Steve Mitchell. “It was lovely seeing them there,” she added.

The silver medal rounds off quite a season for the Chelmsford AC athlete. She finished sixth in the World Youth Championships final, setting a UK all-time under-17 record of 58.74s in the process, and also won a gold medal at the UK School Games.

Now, a day after she celebrated her 17th birthday, she completed her amazing track season with a Commonwealth silver medal.

“It was a great birthday present,” laughed McLean. “It really has been a great year and in usual circumstances I would not be racing this late in the year. So I’m really happy with the medal.

“Coming sixth in the World Youth Championships really boosted my confidence and now coming back with a silver medal from the Commonwealth’s has added to it. You can’t dream of things like that.”