27 April 2024
| THE HEARTBEAT OF WOMEN'S SPORT
Home   >   News   >   Athletics: Jenny Meadows wins 800m bronze

Athletics: Jenny Meadows wins 800m bronze

August 20, 2024

Jenny ‘Pocket Rocket’ Meadows lived up to her name on Wednesday evening in Berlin when she exploded in the final sprint to win bronze in the World Championships in Athletics 800m final and her first individual medal.

As one of the first two British women in an 800m final since Dame Kelly Holmes in Athens, 2004, this was a result even she did not expect, saying afterwards: “I can’t believe I got the bronze. I wanted to make the final here to have a realistic chance of a medal in London. It’s just come three years early.”

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Read related reports:

Athletics: Strong start for Lisa Dobriskey and Sarah Claxton

Athletics: Disappointment for Christine Ohuruogu

Athletics: Ennis is new golden girl

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Meadows, in a characteristic late sprint, finished just .03 seconds after Kenya’s Janet Jepkosgei after taking over Ukrainian runner Yuliya Kreysun when the latter began to tire.

Her rival from the semi-finals, world leader Caster Semenya was again victorious, winning two seconds before anyone else. Amid the controversy of being asked to take a gender verification test by the IAAF, Semenya seemed calm and composed before setting the fast time of the year in the event.

Afterwards Jenny Meadows comented: “I thought a medal was up for grabs as long as I kept my composure. I did. I was actually gutted I didn’t get silver in the end, but a medal is a medal at the end of the day and I really can’t complain.”

Her end time of 1:57:93 is the 3rd fastest British time in history, with Kelly Holmes and Kirsty Wade in front of her, and there is now the possibility that she will get the silver medal depending on the outcome of Semenya’s tests.

However for Marilyn Okoro, Meadows’s British teammate, there was no medal in sight. Starting strongly in the top four Okoro lost her speed in the home straight, coming 8th overall with a similar time to her semi-final race. Happy to have been in the final, she called her place: “a massive stepping stone.”

Whilst Meadows was the only medal winner of the day for Britain’s women, Ireland’s Emily Freeman did finish second in the 200m opening heat, and qualified for Friday’s semi-finals in 16th place.

However, Sarah Claxton, a 2008 Olympic finalist was disappointed with her result in the 100m hurdles semi-finals where she place 8th and missed qualification.

Imogen Jacobs, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine

One Comment

  1. Pingback: Athletics: Bronze for Britain in the 800m - Sportsister - The Women's Sports Magazine | Sportsister

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Select a sport

Find out how to get started, training plans and expert advice.