Super Sophie's delight after best day of her life
In doing so, the Burnley athlete because the first ever Brit to win an Olympic hammer medal, and she is the first British female medalist at an Olympic Games since Fatima Whitbread won silver in the javelin at Seoul in 1988.
Sophie went out to 74.54m with her final throw to climb from fifth to third, and she knew as soon as the hammer left her hands it was big. Speaking from Rio, she said: “It was the best day of my life – it was absolutely amazing. Training has been going really well, and I felt good at the holding camp before the Games. I knew if I could put everything together on the day, I had a chance, and it all came together.”
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Hide AdSophie was fourth at the Worlds in Beijing last year, and again at the European Championships in Amsterdam last month, but she admitted: “I have been quietly confident, although you can’t get too far ahead of yourself. This is what you train for, to peak at the right time, and that throw is what I’ve been building towards.”
There is no rest for Sophie, with the Worlds in London next year, and she added: “I’ll take some time off now, but work then starts for the Worlds and hopefully I can go further again.”
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