Revee Walcott-Nolan claimed her first ever international medal when she pipped Great Britain team-mate Georgia Hunter Bell to the finish line in the European Athletics Indoor Championships 1500m final.
Both athletes crossed the line together but the Lutonian was awarded bronze by one thousandth of a second, and a time of 4:08.45 seconds.
“This one meant a lot today,” Walcott-Nolan told the BBC, adding:”It has been a bit of a rocky road to get here, I’m really happy that I came here and I was able to perform and pull out my first medal.”
After her lean across the line got her on the podium, she added: “I was really fighting that last 200 but I just thought if I can stay with it then hopefully I can sneak a medal. I was dying a little bit I managed to just about hold it together. I’m really happy.
“My race plan was just get up the front and stay there, so I was just trying to track the moves as they went but I think I did a pretty good job, so I’m happy.”
The double Olympian told British Athletics: “I am so happy! Obviously silver or gold would have been nicer, but to come away with a bronze today from a couple of weeks ago when I didn’t think I would be racing indoors at all, I am really proud of myself.
“My coach told me to get up the front in the top two, and stay there. So that is what I was trying to do the whole race: stick to the plan for as long as I can. If I die, I die, but at least I know I have given it a go, and it paid off.”
The medal capped off a week in which Walcott-Nolan turned 30 and she said: “I will be celebrating with my friends for my birthday and then this, I have double celebrations now with this medal! It means a lot, just knowing the hard work I have put in, my coach has put in and everyone around me has put into supporting me to get here; it means a lot that I can finally show that it is all worth it.”
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