EILIDH CHILD wants to lay down a final marker against her 400m hurdles rivals tonight at the Diamond League meeting in Stockholm by finally slashing her personal best.
The European champion – who ran her quickest time ever of 54.22 seconds back in 2013 – gets one last crack before next month’s world championships at Czech rival Zuzana Hejnova and American challenger Georganne Moline after finishing behind the pair at last weekend’s Anniversary Games in London.
But with one month to go until Beijing, Child says she’s prepared to disappear into training with the confidence she’s on track to challenge for a medal.
“It depends if we can get a four-flat between Stockholm and the worlds,” she said. “It would be nice to get another race in. I won’t do any more 400m hurdles after this. I feel it’s enough. I started off the season slowly so it’s been a gradual build. But I feel I’m in the kind of shape to get a personal best now.”
Lynsey Sharp, who produced her fastest time of 2015 in London, takes on Cuba’s Rose Mary Almanza and regular American foe Chanelle Price over 800 metres.
Meanwhile world pole vault record holder Renaud Lavillenie has tipped Scottish prospect Jax Thoirs to bounce back from his world championship selection snub.
The Glaswegian, who missed out despite twice jumping 5.65 metres to land the qualifying mark, will now return to his base in Seattle but his French rival – who won their meeting in London last weekend – expects him to emerge as a future force.
“It’s hard to predict for the future but it’s interesting how he jumped,” Lavillenie said. “It was hard in London to come out and jump against after we were taken off in the rain. I think he can jump 5.70m and after that, you cannot predict. But he is good.”
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