Hannah England cautious on road to recovery
BySportsbeat
Updated 12/07/2013 at 12:22 GMT
Hannah England may be setting her sights on a return to the World Championships next month – two years after she won 1,500m silver in Daegu – but is refusing to predict a medal repeat in Moscow.
Hannah England of Britain celebrates placing second in the women's 1500 metres final at the IAAF 2011 World Championships in Daegu, September 1, 2011
Image credit: Reuters
However, the 26-year-old says she is in good shape and is confident a couple of disappointing runs this season will see her in top form at Birmingham this weekend.
England surprised everyone by powering from seventh to second in the 2011 Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
And she is eager to cement a place in the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team, which will travel to Russia in August, at the Sainsbury’s British Championships, which double up as their World Championship trials.
England was unable to build on her 2011 success when she sustained a freak injury after a spike caught her Achilles tendon.
She remarkably managed to recover ahead of London 2012 but, with her preparations hampered, failed to make the final.
And, with her injury problems behind her, England is thrilled to have the chance to prove she is returning to her best.
“Things are going really well and I’m definitely ready for this weekend and hopefully I can get on this Worlds team,” she said.
“I was gutted to miss last year through injury. The trials mean a lot to me and I’m glad I got here in shape and can have a go.
“It was awesome to win in 2011 and have something to show for all the hard work. Unfortunately it’s set the bar really high and it’s quite hard to match.
“A great World Championships would be getting to the final and running an excellent race. As long as that happens then I’ll be happy. I don’t want to put too much stress and focus on medals.
England was disappointed with recent performances when she finished fifth at the European Team Championships in Gateshead and then seventh at a Diamond League meeting in Birmingham.
But she is confident that with each race her fitness is returning, as well as her tactical awareness and the aggression needed to fight for position on the track.
“It’s a good experience to go through races like that,” she added. “It wasn’t great, but it was better to have bad races there than at the Championships.”
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