Heartbreak for Turner in Turin

Posted: Friday 6th March 2009 | 19:44

ANDY Turner has missed a medal by the thickness of a vest at the European Indoor Championships.

HARD LUCK: Andy Turner misses podium by a whisker in Turin (Getty Images)

In a crushing repeat of his position two years ago, the 60m hurdler finished an agonising fourth - just one hundredth of a second off a medal.

It's another blow for the 28-year old, who admits he is running angry after being stripped of his lottery funding following a disappointing show at the Beijing Olympics.

"It just a horrible place to finish and I'm totally gutted," he said.

"I ran poorly in the heat and the semi so I can take a positive from how I performed in the final.

"But it's not a real consolation because I'm going home empty handed. I promised my daughters that I'd bring back a medal, so they'll be disappointed too."

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Turner insists he has no intention of quitting the sport, despite the loss of his funding.

But he believes even a medal in Turin wouldn't have changed the mind of new UK Athletics head coach Charles van Commenee, who is looking to streamline his squad and focus on those with podium potential.

"I'm using what's happened as a motivation. I'm frustrated but I'm trying to keep that frustration controllable or things will get messy," added Turner.

"The decision has been made, I've had to accept it and move on.

"I'm hoping I can prove them wrong and maybe they took a little note here, but I need to do it on the world stage for them to really listen."

Turner's next aim will be this summer's World Championships in Berlin, where he believes a solid winter campaign will serve him well.

"I'm not a massive fan of indoor athletics but I'm strongest in the final part of my race," he added.

"But if I can continue this form it's encouraging, my start is getting better and that bodes well for the outdoors.

"After Birmingham I drank my sorrows and then came back stronger but it's a painful feeling. I'm fed up of finishing fourth but I'm not walking away."

British athletes won ten medals when these championships were last held but van Commenee is setting a target of six this weekend - and returned to base empty handed after day one.

Sarah Claxton reached the women's 60m hurdle final as the quickest qualifier but finished last.

And to make matters worse her semi-final time, which equaled her own four-year old national record, would have been good enough for bronze.

JAMES TONEY in Turin