BILLINGE pole vaulter Harry Coppell won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham yesterday with a height of 5.50m.
He finished behind Australia’s golf medallist Kurtis Marschall and England’s Adam Hague (5.55m).
It the 26-year-old British champion’s first Commonwealth Games medal after he missed the last tournament.
He said: “I came in with the mindset that I wanted to win. But Kurtis [Marschall, gold medallist] was going to be really hard to beat today, he looked incredible and tried the Games record.
“Adam [Hague] played the competition perfectly to get that second place. I’m disappointed overall but happy for me, happy for my teammate, and Kurtis jumped brilliantly.”
His bronze was tinged with disappointment as he had targeted leaving Birmingham with the gold, but it was not to be.
“I’m only disappointed now because I was trying to hype myself up to go for the win.
"It’s an incredible achievement – I didn’t make the last Commonwealth Games, I missed it by five or ten centimetres, so to be here and get a medal is incredible,” Coppell.
Coppell spoke of the tactics adopted in the event, with the small raises in heights that ultimately benefited the silver medallist Hague.
Coppell said: “Our progressions broke quite small, quite soon. We went in 5cm increments from 5.40, whereas usually in a big championships that would be 5.80 or 5.90.
"It was quite tactical from the beginning, me and Kurtis went for the 50s and 60s and Adam went for 45, 55, 65, which paid off in the end.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here