BETHY Woodward insisted she loved being back in the medal hunt after picking up bronze in the 400m at the IPC Athletics European Championships in Swansea.

The Dorset T37 sprinter spends most of her time competing with able-bodied athletes and admitted she doesn’t get that winning feeling as often as she would like.

But with a major championship medal now in her possession, the 21-year-old said the pain she put herself through was well worth it.

“It’s great to be here running with the girls again. I feel like I’m in the mix of it and I showed that," said Woodward.

“For the past couple of years I’ve only been in able-bodied races and I’ve been behind them, so I was looking forward to coming here where I would be in the mix with the girls and it wasn’t until the last 100m that I saw them. But then I didn’t have enough to pip them at the end.”

Woodward wasn’t short of support in Swansea, with Sainsbury’s a proud sponsor of the British Paralympic Association and its athletes all the way to Rio 2016.

And having competed in the long jump at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Woodward is taking her major championship experiences and looking for even more medals in the future.

“It’s been a long season, with the long jump in the Commonwealths, so it was really tough to balance them both,” she continued. “But I’m really proud of this year and I’m really excited for years to come.”

Next up for the T37 world champion is the women’s 4x100m metres alongside Olivia Breen, Sophie Hahn and Jenny McLoughlin tomorrow evening (6.21pm). 

  • Broadstone’s Zachary Sheridan finished sixth in the men’s trampoline gymnastics final at the Youth Olympic Games today.

Having comfortably qualified for the eight-man decider, the 17-year-old was stifled by an early setback and missed out on a medal in Nanjing, China.

  • Sainsbury’s is proud to support British Athletics through the Summer Series events and is committed to helping young people lead healthier, more active lifestyles.

For more information visit www.sainsburys.co.uk/legacy.