Injury-hit Lally was in damage limitation at World Athletics Championships

Discus star Jade Lally was delighted to take part in the World Athletics Championships in the London Stadium after an injury-plagued build-up.
Olympic Discus thrower Jade Lally. Pic Steve Robards  SR1618809 SUS-160627-192747001Olympic Discus thrower Jade Lally. Pic Steve Robards  SR1618809 SUS-160627-192747001
Olympic Discus thrower Jade Lally. Pic Steve Robards SR1618809 SUS-160627-192747001

Competing in front of a packed home audience was ‘amazing’ and the incredible support helped her to achieve a respectable distance of 57.71m after two no-throws.

Although she did not qualify for the final, which would have required a distance of 61.48m, her overall result of 18th was a good as she could have expected bearing in mind her physical condition.

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An inflamed disc back injury and damaged pelvic joint hampered her preparations and meant extensive treatment in the days and weeks leading up to the event.

Lally said: “It went to plan - I’ve been injured all year and was never in as good shape as I was last year. It was damage-limitation.

“The circumstances and given the pressure I was under, being able to do it I was happy.

“I could hardly walk a week before I went to the holding camp in Paris I had treatment including steroid injections and rehab.

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“When I threw, my pain was being managed with pain-killers, which masked the pain so I could do the event.”

Lally loved the experience of finally competing on home soil, having missed out on selection for the 2012 Olympics.

She said: “It was everything I thought it would be. It was difficult to go in with a positive mindset.

“I wasn’t expected to get that far, but the crowd was amazing, so so loud and with a quiet event schedule at the time, I had good TV coverage.

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“To have the spotlight was amazing - I have shown a GB athlete can compete in the discus on the World stage - I hope I can inspire some youngsters to want to compete at discus for GB.”

“Being in Team GB was better than at the Rio Olympics - that was my first global event and I felt isolated but this time there was more of a team spirit.”

Lally’s next competition will be at the Diamond League meeting in Birmingham this weekend.

She will then set her mind on the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast, Australia in April 2018.

This will be another exciting challenge and she is planning to travel to Australia to train in December, which is where she broke the English record in February 2016.