Stevie Stockton wins medal at European Championships (From Northwich Guardian)

Stevie Stockton wins medal at European Championships

8:17pm Sunday 17th July 2011 in Other sport

STEVIE Stockton gained the medal she craved in the European Athletics U23s Championships today.

In only her second 5,000m race, the Vale Royal Athletics Club star knocked more than 11 seconds off the time that secured her trials win in Bedford last month to seal bronze in the Czech Republic.

The 21-year-old set her stall out to run a tactical medal-challenging race and it paid off for her in style in the sweltering Ostrava heat.

She resisted the temptation to join an early breakaway pack of three led by eventual winner Layes Abdullayeva of Azerbaijan.

Crewe-born Stockton, more accustomed to 1,500m running, initially tucked in with the chasing pack and worked her way to the head of the group in time to have a prime view of the third-placed Russian being hauled in.

The bronze medal was on and Stockton was determined it would be hers.

She moved into third with two laps to go but faced a spirited challenge from France’s Clemence Calvin before her middle-distance speed came into its own.

“When I was passed on the back straight coming round to the finish I was thinking “no, no, no”, I really wanted a medal,” she said.

“But the majority of my training has been for the 1,500m so I was pretty confident when it came down to the sprint finish.

“I still don’t really know how to pace myself over this distance, but the 1,500m training really came into play there!”

She finished the 12-and-a-half laps in a personal best 15:58.51. Abdullayeva’s victory time was 15:29.47.