Hannah England is putting all her eggs in one basket at the European Team Championships this weekend and is hoping it will see her crow- ned best of Britain.
The Oxford City middle-distance runner has been selected to represent Great Britain in Bergen, Norway by UKA head coach Charles van Commenee ahead of compatriots Lisa Dobriskey, Steph Twell and Charlene Thomas.
It's testament to the faith shown in her that van Commenee has overlooked a world silver medallist, a world junior champion and the reigning British champion in favour of the 23-year-old.
“I think I gained a lot of experience from this event last year,” said England, who clocked a season’s best of 4mins 5.53secs in Poland earlier this month.
She ducked below the two-minute barrier for the first time over 800m last year as Britain finished third.
But having clocked 1.59.54 over 800m last year, England could not repeat such heroics in the 1500m and was fourth.
This time around however, she will purely focus on the 1500m and believes an impressive showing will book her place at the European Championships.
“There’s quite a lot of pressure and responsibility, bearing in mind the quality of the competition in Britain,” she said.
“I ran a good time in Poland and so I feel in good form, but I want the tactical challenge of a strong race against good opposition.
“This is going to be like the field for the European Championships so it should be a good test and will set me up nicely for the GB trials in Birminghamnext week.”
England will have a point to prove at the trials, after missing out on the team for the World Championships last year and is adamant she will not leave anything to chance.
“It’s the first two over the line that automatically qualify for the Europeans and I have to make sure I’m in that two,” added England.
“It’s going to be tough because the standard of 1500m running in this country is very high, but that gives you confidence that you can take on the best in Europe if you’re the best in Britain.”
l Aviva is proud to have been the No 1 sponsor of UK Athletics since 1999 and is committed to developing the sport at every level, from playground to podium. Visit www.aviva.co.uk/athletics for more information
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 The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.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