Manchester’s Seren Bundy-Davies says she will return home with a slight hint of regret despite winning two medals at the European Indoor Championships in Prague last weekend.
The 400m specialist was unfancied as an indoor runner at the start of the season and her campaign got off to the worst possible start at the Sainsbury’s British Championships when a trip and fall saw her lose a leading position.
But she recovered well for Birmingham’s Indoor Grand Prix and set the field alight with a stunning 51.72 second run to set her up for a trip to the Czech Republic.
That time was the quickest on the continent this season heading into the competition and she was a strong contender for gold.
An aggressive final looked like it would be a challenge for the 20-year-old but she more-than held her own to clinch a bronze medal – even if she felt it could have been so much more.
“It would have been nice to win gold but I’m really happy with my first senior international and now I’ll go onto the relay,” she said.
“I’m definitely looking forward to outdoors now and having my own lane because that was so scrappy and I felt pretty heavy after yesterday.
“I think I did everything in my power and unfortunately that took a lot out of my legs. I worked incredibly hard to run 53.00 and that wasn’t expected in the semi.
“You have to be tactical but you also have to be competitive and make your presence felt.
“I’m really delighted with a medal from my first senior championship but I did at least want a silver! I know that sounds really funny but I have such high expectations of myself.
“I was so close to silver which is disappointing but I’m happy to come away with a medal.”
That medal wasn’t the end of Bundy-Davies’ Czech adventure and she lined up again on Sunday for the 4x400m relay along with Sale Harrier Kirsten McAslan.
It looked like it might be a disastrous run for the Brits as Kelly Massey struggled in the opening leg but Bundy-Davies produced a brilliant leg to pull her team back in it and, after Laura Maddox kept the pace up, McAslan brought it home for silver.
“I felt fine physically but I knew from the individual it was going to be messy with chopping and changing all the time,” Bundy-Davies added.
“In my head I was trying to plan one metre ahead of myself because the last thing I wanted was to fall and put these girls in a bad position.
“I’m really happy we all glued well together! I can’t remember most of the race, you’re literally just concentrating on yourself and trying to stay on your feet.”
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