8th August 2012

OLYMPICS DAY SIX

8 August 2012

Day Six Morning Session

Men’s Decathlon 100m

Daniel Awde (coach: Greg Ricahrds) set a new personal best after recording 10.71.  

Men’s 5000m Heats

Mo Farah (Alberto Salazar) ensured his place in Saturday’s final after finishing third in 13:26.00 in heat one.

"I’ve got to recover well and get ready for the final," said Farah. "I’ve just got to forget about what I’ve done and everything else.

"There’s zero pressure, it’s the pressure you put on yourself and I’m not putting any pressure on myself. It’s amazing to have the crowd, and I want to do well in a way for the crowd and the support, it drives you further.

"Whatever I do I’m going to give it 110 percent."

Nick McCormick (Lindsay Dunn) missed out a qualifying for the final when he crossed the line in 13:25.70 to finish 12th.

McCormick said: "I’ve got something to be proud of as I gave it absolutely everything, I’ve no regrets.

"I need to push on from here to Moscow next year, I am determined I can make that final next year."

Women’s Hammer Qualification

Sophie Hitchon (Derek Evely) set a new British record of 71.98m to finish fifth in group A. The result sees the Blackburn Harrier qualify for Friday’s final in 10th spot.  

"It’s amazing to be here," said Hitchon. "I was just proud to be on the team but to come here in a morning session with a full crowd and throw a PB and a GB record was amazing.

"As soon as I walked in I knew I could do this. It was pretty much all or nothing, but as soon as I let go I knew and when it came up I was elated."

Women’s 800m Heats

Lynsey Sharp (David Sunderland) made it through to the semi-finals with a solid performance in heat four. The Edinburgh athlete qualified automatically with second place in 2:01.41.

"I could see on the screen there were three of us clear so I eased off at the end," said Sharp.

"I haven’t raced since the Europeans so I’ve just been getting a really good block of training in whilst in Portugal with my coach and yes I’m feeling in great shape."

Men’s Decathlon Long Jump

Daniel Awde endured a disappointing long jump with a conservative best of 6.83m.

Men’s Pole Vault Qualification

Steve Lewis (Dan Pfaff) sailed into Friday’s final after clearing 5.50m with his first attempt.

"I felt really comfortable, I had a good warm up and everything went to plan – that’s what I’ve been practising all year, that one jump opening at 5.50m," said Lewis.

"I wasn’t sure it was going to be enough but that was a pretty easy qualification and I’ll take some confidence from that going into the final now."

Men’s Decathlon Update

Daniel Awde has been withdrawn from the decathlon with patella tendinitis and will take no further part in the competition.

"I’ve had a flare up of patella tendinitis and if I continued it would probably rupture," he revealed.

"It’s been a real rollercoaster ride, we try to find solutions to it. It works for about a week, find another solution and that works for about a week. If you spoke to me at the start of the year I wouldn’t have expected to be here in the first place, it’s been a real bane of my life for the last two years."

 

Day Six Evening Session

110m Hurdles Semi-Finals

Andy Turner (Lloyd Cowan) was eliminated in semi-final two after finishing fourth in 13.42. His time was not enough to earn a fastest loser spot.

Team-mate Lawrence Clarke (Malcolm Arnold) won the last qualifying spot after setting a new personal best of 13.31 in semi-final one.

Women’s 1500m Semi-Finals

Lisa Dobriskey (Ricky Soos) will contest in Saturday’s final after producing an assured display of middle- distance running in semi-final one. She finished fourth in a time of 4:05.35.

"I’m so proud I’ve made it to the final," revealed Dobriskey. "It was difficult because I couldn’t let myself dream of my ultimate goal before I was there, so really chuffed to actually be there."

It was not so good news for Hannah England (Bud Baldaro) who failed to qualify in 9th with 4:06.35.

England said: "I lacked a bit of race experience and race fitness in the last lap. I felt really good with a lap to go and I thought I could still overtake a lot of them but no."

Laura Weightman (Steve Cram) will join Dobriskey in the final after the Morpeth Harrier ran a lifetime best of 4:02.99 in the second semi-final to secure a fastest loser berth.

"The goal was to make the final, but to actually achieve it and make the final is something special because it’s such a tough event and there are so many quality girls," said Weightman.

"I knew it would be hard and I had to run a PB to make the final so it just shows how tough it actually is."

Men’s 200m Semi-Finals

Christian Malcolm’s (Dan Pfaff) individual Olympic Games came to an end in semi-final three. His third place finish and time of 20.51 was not enough to win a place in tomorrow’s final.

"It would have been more enjoyable if I’d made the final, to be honest I’m gutted I didn’t make the final. I’m not going to make any excuses, there are no reasons why," said Malcolm.

Women’s Long Jump Final

There was disappointment for Shara Proctor (Rana Reider) in the long jump final. The British record holder’s best effort of 6.55m was only good enough for 9th.

"I feel blessed that this was my first Olympics," said Proctor. "I came out here and tried my best because I love the crowd, it just didn’t go as planned. It’s my first Olympics and I made it to the final so what else could I ask for – it’s not my best and I know I could do better but I can’t do anything about the past right now."

Men’s 110m Hurdles Final

Lawrence Clarke had an evening to remember. Fourth in the Olympic final 13.39 secured an impressive performance.

"It hasn’t sunk in, it don’t think it ever will," said Clarke.

"I got an amazing start and I clashed arms with the guy next to me but it didn’t affect me. I was quite a long way off the medals and it was a race for 4th place, there were two people who dipped with me."

Men’s Javelin Qualification

Mervyn Luckwell (Esa Utriainen) failed to make the final. A best throw of 74.09m was not enough to make the top 12.