Hitchon was born in Burnley, Lancashire, and attended Wellfield Church Primary School, Ivy Bank Business and Enterprise College and Thomas Whitham Sixth Form.[1] She is studying for a BSc in Business and Sport Management from the University of Hertfordshire.[2] Hitchon practiced ballet between the ages of 4 and 14 and credits it for teaching dedication to sport.[3]
In March 2008, at the age of 16, Hitchon set a new junior record with a throw of 59.74m at the UK Throws event in Birmingham, followed by a 59.49m throw at the Blackpool Open Meeting the same weekend.[6]
In July 2009, Hitchon won bronze in the hammer at the European Junior Championships. In doing so she also improved her own national junior record to 63.18m and took Britain's first ever European Junior medal in the women's hammer.[7]
A year later, Hitchon was captain of the UK women's team at the IAAF World Junior Championships (Moncton, Canada, 19–25 July), as well as remaining the UK junior hammer record holder.[8]
In July 2011, Hitchon represented the UK in the European Under-23 Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic (14–17 July),[9] taking the bronze medal.
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Hitchon achieved a bronze medal in the women's Hammer throw with a distance of 68.72m. This was her first success at a senior level championship.[10]
At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Hitchon achieved a bronze medal in the women's hammer throw with a distance of 74.54 metres on her final attempt, setting a new GB record in the process. It also made her the first British hammer thrower to win an Olympic medal[11] and ended a 28-year Olympic medal drought for GB in women's field events since Fatima Whitbread's silver at Seoul in 1988.
