Kelly Sotherton has set her sights on making the Olympic relay team after a winning time of 52.47sec in the 400m was the fastest for a British woman this winter.
Sotherton was in inspired form as she comfortably took the 400m at the Norwich Union Grand Prix this weekend. The run was the last of the three event challenge which also included the long jump and 60m hurdles.
Sotherton was up against her closest rival in Sweden’s Carolina Kluft and it was the Swede who took the upper hand, easily winning the long jump in the first event, even if not looking quite at her best.
Sotherton bounced back however and ran a personal best of 8.17sec in the 60m hurdles with Kluft left behind in a close third spot, snapping at the heels of Gi Gi Johnson who held her own in second place.
Sotherton didn’t let the disappointing result in the long jump dampen her mood from the latter performances though, and full of confidence announced herself as a serious contender for the 400m relay team. “Why not? Looking back at the race, I could have gone faster,” she said.
Sotherton will be looking to take her current form to the Indoor Championships in Valencia next month where she will be eager to improve upon her long jump and pip Kluft to first place in the overall results.
Harriet Edkins, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
