Newspaper Article Source: Daily Star Date: August 28, 1998   Sporty Spice showed her pals a clean pair of heels when she gave up athletics to become a multi-million pound pop star. Teenager Mel C used to turn out for training in all weathers hoping she might one day become a track star. But she sprinted away from her school and county team mates leaving them in the starting blocks while she became a hit in the music world. Spice Girl Mel C yesterday spoke of how she dreamed of making it as a sprinter and high jumper. She was such a success with the Cheshire county team she had a trial for the British athletics team at 15. Mel, who now has a £13m fortune, admitted: "Athletics were my first love. My events were 200m, 100m and the high jump. I won many races and broke a high jump record, which still stands. When I was picked for the GB trials for Cheshire it was a dream come true." But Sporty's parents divorced so after her GCSEs she left Widnes for London to go to college. She still loves athletics and was cheering on Britain's heroes during last week's European Athletics Championships. She said: "There's a part of me that wishes I'd made it in the sport."