CHIPPENHAM sprinter Elaine O’Neill was caught frozen at the Sainsbury’s British Championships – but she has no intentions of remaining in the cold for long.

The 23-year-old, recently crowned double sprint champion at the Welsh championships, suffered a nightmare start to the shorter sprint at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium She failed to react to the gun in the first of four 100m heats, remaining in the blocks while the rest of the field took off, but recovered to clock a season’s best 24.31 seconds for fourth in the third of four 200m heats.

It was not enough to progress further in the competition but, now over a long-term Achilles problem, she is confident about the future.

“I needed to run the 200m after the 100m. That was a massive disappointment, my fault, so I needed to come and just get the job done,” she said.

“It was just a massive disappointment. It was just nerves, the occasion got the better of me and I needed to calm it down.

“You have to learn to control your nerves, and maybe I have lost touch with that, but I have got every confidence within me.

“I think I got out well in the 200m, I was really happy up to about 150m but then with me it is always the end of the race that I struggle.”

O’Neill has now run four times over 200m this season and, with an eye on next year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, was just happy to be at the British Championships no matter what.

“The last two seasons I have had Achilles problems but thanks to my coach and physio it is all good now,” she said.

“I have got build myself back up and there are the Commonwealth Games next year. I have had a few injuries issues – they have gone now – but I am just happy to be where I am.”

David Bishop classes himself among the best 1500m runners in the country despite narrowly missing out on a medal in Birmingham.

Bishop, 26, of Chippenham underlined his medal potential in the heats at the Alexander Stadium, emerging victorious in a time of 3:42.92 minutes.

The final was a slower run affair, Chris O’Hare taking gold in 3:51.36 and James Brewer silver 0.56 adrift. Lee Emanuel took bronze by the width of a vest ahead of Richard Peters and Bishop.

Just six hundredths of a second separated third and fifth and that made Bishop feel that he should be considered as part of the cream of Britain’s 1500m talent.

“I consider myself to be right up there with the best. The past couple of weeks have been a bit tough for some reason but training has been great,” said Bishop.

“The heats was a pretty routine run really. It felt okay, didn’t feel great, but in these types of races there’s quite a lot of pressure just to get through and get into the final so it was job done.

“I did all right, I seemed to have more in the tank at the end than most people.”

Sainsbury’s British Championships is the second event in the Sainsbury’s Summer Series. For more information, go to sainsburys-live-well-for-less.co.uk/occasions/anniversary-games

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