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Friday 5th - Melissa makes it through
05/08/2022 00:00, I Mewn Blog / Commonwealth Games /
Images: Gary Mitchell
Gold Coast 1500m Bronze medallist, Melissa Courtney-Bryant got her campaign underway in heat one. With fellow GB athletes, Laura Muir and Ciara Mageean, also in the heat and only the top five to qualify, Melissa was run out of the automatic qualification places in the home straight and had a nervy wait to see if her time was enough to put her through to the final.
A slower second heat meant relief for Melissa and a place in Sunday's final where she'll hope to to put herself in the mix to emulate her success on the Gold Coast. Speaking after watching the second heat, Melissa said:
"I'm very glad I get to do that 1500m final, once you make the final anything can happen. In the Gold Coast I wasn't tipped for a medal, complete underdog. I just want to get in mix, get out on that track, and enjoy being in front of that crowd."
It was a Back to Back Brier evening – Hannah up first in the semi-final of the women’s 200m, followed by Joe in his 400m semi-final.
Starting in lane seven and ranked fifth fastest in her semi-final, Hannah Brier was up against it to make the top two and gain automatic qualification to the final. After a strong start, Hannah was placed round the bend, but wasn’t able to stay with the leaders down the home straight. She finished 6th in 23.84 which sadly wasn’t enough to progress as one of the two fastest non-automatic qualifiers. After a full on four days of competing, Hannah told us:
“My hamstrings are feeling it now, but you know what it’s been amazing, every time I’ve stepped out here it’s shocked me, there’s so many Welsh flags, I was getting so emotional. I’m really, really proud of myself, it’s the first time I’ve been at a major champs since I was 18, it’s been a massive learning curve and I’m just really, really happy to be here.”
Brother Joe Brier lined up in semi-final two, lane three with a host of fast qualifiers outside him from all over the commonwealth – eight different nations being represented. Into his running quickly, Joe held his own round the first bend and down the back straight, as the stagger unwound he was in the mix coming into the home straight and battled his way to the line, ending up 8th in 47.50. Joe missed out on a place in the final but will have another opportunity in a major champs at the upcoming European Athletics Championships in Munich with Great Britain. Joe told us after:
"These are some of the fastest guys in the word, it was always going to be difficult, To give myself a chance I had to put myself there. I did my best, that's all I could ask for. I'll come back in four years time and definetly be in that final."
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