WHAT a Commonwealth Games it’s been for Lucy Woodward.
With Glasgow 2026 marking her debut entry at this level, Woodward took the Women’s Heptathlon by storm to prove she belongs, capping off her time at the Games with an excellent performance in the 800m.
After smashing the Long Jump and Javelin Throw Competitions earlier this morning to score a new PB of 5.82m and a Season’s Best of 34.62m respectively, all attention shifted to the heptathlon’s finale – the 800m.
It was a long and anxious wait throughout the day, but Woodward cast all that aside to launch off the start line and establish herself as a real contender in the race, breaking away in third round the first bend.
Even though a couple of the competitors turned on the jets to overtake, Woodward kept her composure and stuck to the plan, refusing to get caught up and lose her way.
As she stuck to the pace, her strength in the event showed, showing no signs of slowing down throughout before kicking things up a gear on the home straight.
Woodward crossed the line well in the mix with the world-class field to finish in fifth place, with a time of 2:11.94 seconds.
This just draws a line under what’s been the performance of Woodward’s career, with PB’s in the 100m Hurdles, High Jump, 200m and Long Jump helping drive her to a strong 12th placed finish, with a new PB total of 5530 points.
“I’m ecstatic, I can’t actually put it into words,” said an elated Woodward. “My first major champs and I’ve come away with so many PB’s and so many lessons.
“It’s been more than I could have ever imagined, I’ve just enjoyed every second of it. Every event’s had its highs, its lows – I think I’ve cried like a hundred times with happy tears. It’s been a real rollercoaster and I’m so excited to do more championships like this, so it hopefully opens some doors next season.”
We’re far from finished with the athletics action here in Glasgow, as fellow multi-event trailblazer Evan Campbell is all set to take the stage and commence his decathlon campaign tomorrow, with the 100m kicking it all off at 10.10am.
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