JESSICA Judd was left distraught after being knocked out in the heats of the 800m at the World Championships.
The 18-year-old from Canvey believed she could make the final at her first major global championships.
But she crossed the line fifth in her heat in 2m 01.48s to finish outside the qualifiers for today’s semi-final.
And afterwards, the teenager admitted the race was a “disaster”.
She said: “It just didn’t go how I wanted it to at all.
“I’ve come along way this season, it’s been my best season so far. It would have been a dream if I could have made it into the final, at least the semis.
“Going out in the heat was not on my agenda at all. I think that’s why I am so disappointed, because I know I could be a finalist and it just wasn’t there.
“I can run so much quicker. I think I’m in 1m 58s shape so to run over two minutes is just a disaster, in my opinion.”
“But I gave it my all. I couldn’t have done any more than that.”
Judd felt like she had run a tactically smart race for 700m but that she ran out of legs in the final 100m.
After picking up a worrying calf injury at the British trials for the World Championships last month, Judd has been in a race to get fit for Moscow.
And that short time off the track as she recovered from injury looked like it made the difference as she couldn’t move through the gears in the closing stages.
“I thought I was clawing them back,” said Judd. “But then my legs just went and maybe that’s the fitness I have lost.”
It has still been a remarkable year for Judd, winning the European Team Championships and then breaking the two-minute mark to win the Diamond League in Birmingham a week later.
Judd says she now intends to “knuckle down” and possibly run a few more races this year as she seeks to lower her PB even further.
“I just have to try to get stronger and maybe have a few more races this year,” she said. “I think I can be proud of what I’ve achieved so far and hopefully take that into next year.”
Judd did, however, have something to smile about yesterday.
After initially saying she didn’t want to find out her A-Level results – which her classmates at King John School in Thundersley were collecting yesterday while Judd was toeing the start line in the Luzhniki Stadium – Judd had a change of heart and was pleased she did.
She achieved an A* in PE and an A and a B, saying later: “At least I’m a little bit happier about that!”
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