Commonwealth Games: Burnley athlete in hammer final

Sophie Hitchon will contest this evening’s Commonwealth Games hammer final at Hampden Park.
England's Sophie Hitchon in the Women's Hammer Throw at Hampden Park, during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Photo: John Giles/PA Wire.England's Sophie Hitchon in the Women's Hammer Throw at Hampden Park, during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Photo: John Giles/PA Wire.
England's Sophie Hitchon in the Women's Hammer Throw at Hampden Park, during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Photo: John Giles/PA Wire.

The Burnley athlete qualified with her first throw yesterday, passing the automatic qualifying mark of 65m with her effort of 65.31m.

That placed her third overall in qualifying ahead of the final, behind Canada’s Sultana Frizell, who threw a games record of 68.92m, and New Zealand’s Julia Ratcliffe, who threw 67.96m.

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Sophie, in relaxed mood, gave the crowd a kiss after her throw, and said afterwards: “Qualifying can sometimes be the hardest thing and if you take it lightly things can go wrong.

“I’m just glad to get it out of the way with the first attempt.”

Asked about the atmosphere on the back of reaching the Olympic final in London two years ago, she added: “It’s exactly the same as London - I thought it was going to be dulled down a bit, but how wrong was I?!”

Tonight’s final will start at 7-05 p.m.