News

May 29, 2008 - Belgrade International Meeting, Serbia

Strong winds make for slow times in Belgrade

With top competition and pleasant forecasts, Belgrade looked to be a promising meet to run fast. But, to the dismay of most athletes, the mid-day strong winds never died down as predicted.

The women’s 1500m hosted a strong field of competitors from Britain and Eastern Europe, all aiming for the Olympic A qualifying time of 4:07.00. Hilary said she went into the race very focused and feeling good.

“I felt both mentally and physically prepared for this race and I really expected it to be a good one. But after a decent first lap, the pace slowed quite a bit because of the strong wind on the home stretch, and even more so once the rabbit dropped.”

The final battle came down to three Brits with Sonya Roman of Slovenia and Hilary following close behind. Susan Scott of UK crossed the line in first with a time of 4:10.65. Hilary finished 5th in 4:14.34. Hilary explains that it was a disappointing race, but optimistic that things are coming around.

“I was surprised and disappointed to hear such slow times when I finished, but I guess the was the trend of the day for everyone. I feel stronger with each race and know I just need to stay focused and times will come.”

Next up Hilary will run in Greece on June 4.

Full results of Belgrade here.

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