12 September 2008

Britain’s leading multi-eventer Kelly Sotherton will be looking to end her season on a high at the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge finale in Tallance, France this weekend.

The 31 year old was disappointed to have finished 5th in the heptathlon at the recent Olympic Games, a position that was upgraded to 4th due to the subsequent disqualification of Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine for a doping violation.

Sotherton, who won bronze at the Athens Olympics and at last year’s IAAF World Championships in Osaka, will face a virtual rematch of Beijing with the top seven in the final classifications all entered, minus 5th placed Canadian Jessica Zelinka. Newly crowned Olympic champion Natalya Dobrynska (Ukraine) heads the field.

This weekend will be only the second heptathlon of the year for Sotherton, after illness afflicted the early part of the season.