Rachel Wallader hits season best but misses out on Commonwealth Games medal
Rachel Wallader hit a season’s best in the Commonwealth shot put final but missed out on a medal and the Stourbridge thrower was left to rue what might have been.
The 28-year-old threw 17.48m – good enough for sixth in the final and a slight regression on her fourth place four years ago in Glasgow.
But her form is on an upwards curve, that distance would have won her a medal in Scotland in 2014 – and now Wallader just wants to produce her best on the big stage and show the world.
“I threw a season’s best but I was expecting a lot more from myself,” she said.
“Training has been going really well, I have been hitting distances that I couldn’t dream of. But I just couldn’t put it together today.
“My body is tired, little bits are hurting from yesterday, I have not quite got it down to competing two days in a row.
“But this is a major improvement on previous Championships, this is the best I have thrown in a major so there are a lot of positives. I think I am being a bit hard on myself because I want that elusive 18 metres.
“It is a bit gutting but the standard has gone up so much as well.”
Meanwhile para sprinter Morgan Jones had to settle for fourth in the T47 100m final in the Carrara Stadium, stopping the clock in 11.93 seconds.
But after converting from long jump to sprinting just for the Gold Coast – the 23-year-old – who is coached by Christian Malcolm – insists his change of events is now going to be a permanent one.
“That was good – definitely the best experience of my life!” he said.
“It would have been amazing to get a medal but I am here and that is the main thing.
“It has been amazing, I am so glad that I made the change and decided to try and get here as a sprinter.
“I am in good form at the moment, but sometimes it doesn’t come together. But that’s not to say it was a bad run, I ran pretty well.
“That was a world-class field and I was part of it, so that’s pretty cool.
“I am going to stick with sprinting – I’m a sprinter now!
“Christian told me to go out there and enjoy it – not to be afraid – and that is exactly what I did!”
Finally, Tom Marshall ended up eighth in his 1500m heat this morning, failing to make the final with his time of 3:50.95minutes.
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