Finishing seventh may not normally seem worth celebrating, but after the struggles that Holly Bradshaw has had over the past two years, finishing seventh in the pole vault final at the World Championships seemed a significant step forward.
Bradshaw has not vaulted the past two summers because of a back injury that at times was so bad the former European Indoor champion wondered if she would ever be able to compete at her best again.
Today provided the answer as she cleared 4.70 metres in the competition won by Yarisley Silva, of Cuba, with 4.90.
“I’m so happy I didn’t really know what to expect coming into this competition,” Bradshaw, who was Holly Bleasdale until her marriage last October, said. “After I qualified so well, I didn’t really know what would happen. But 4.70 is only 1cm off the British outdoor record and an outdoor PB I am so, so happy.
“It’s been really tough past couple of years and this year hasn’t been such a smooth ride at all. To be rewarded a top eight in the world, it’s a great stepping stone towards Rio.”
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Eilidh Child was less happy with finishing sixth in the final of the 400 metres hurdles. She began well but stuttered going into a hurdle on the final bend and could not pull back the defecit, finishing in 54.78, well adrift of the winner, Zuzana Hejnova, of the Czech Republic, who recorded a time of 53.50.
“I feel like I should be among the medals or at least closer and I just feel like I’m throwing these opportunities away,” Child said. “This has been quite a difficult year. It’s been a transition year with a new stride pattern and I wanted to have nailed it before I got here, but I hadn’t really done that. Hopefully, next year I’ll be a bit quicker and make that stride pattern a bit more consistent.”
Rabah Yousif finished a respectable sixth in a hot 400 metres final that saw Wayde Van Niekerk, of South Africa, upset the established order as he blasted out quick to win in 43.48, ahead of LaShawn Merritt, of the United States, in second, with Kirani James, the Olympic champion from Grenada, in third.
Mo Farah cleared the way for another gold medal attempt as he qualified for Saturday’s final of the 5,000 metres, although, as in the 10,000 metres final, he had to survive a trip during the race before progressing through.
“I nearly went down… again!” Farah said. “I hope it doesn’t become third time bad luck.” On Saturday, in the 10,000 metres final, he was tripped as he went out on the final lap but maintained his footing. This time it happened mid-race as he was running in the pack, but again he stayed on his feet.
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“I was thinking even if I went down at that point, I looked at the laps and I thought I was OK. I have recovered well [from the 10,000 metres], have to get an ice bath now, two days in my room, playing PlayStation, chilling out, watching a bit of athletics.”
Tom Farrell also qualified for the final after finishing fourth in the first heat in 13:45.29.
Lynsey Sharp, Shelayna Oskan-Clarke and Jenny Meadows all reached the semi-finals of the women’s 800 metres, while Sophie Hitchon reached the final of the women’s hammer.