Heartache for Meadows as Okoro gets it all wrong

JENNY Meadows will leave the European Indoor Championships in Turin empty-handed - despite edging ever closer to her first major medal.

ALL WRONG: Marilyn Okoro gets it all wrong in Turin while Meadows is an agonising fourth (Getty Images)

The Wigan Harrier produced a storming finish to come home fourth, just 0.19 seconds behind Italy's bronze medallist Elisa Cusma Piccione.

Great Britain team-mate Marilyn Okoro set a ferocious pace but faded drastically and fell just a metre from the line, before taking fifth place.

Meadows, who finished fifth at the World Indoor Championships last year, and fifth at the European indoors in 2007, admitted an improvement in Turin was scant consolation. 

"I'm pretty gutted but that was just such a difficult race," she said. "It was unfortunate because I just didn't quite time things right.

"Nor did Marilyn (Okoro) so it hasn't been a great competition for us but that was a really strong field."

---

RELATED: Okoro will spur me on in Turin, says Meadows

---

 

Gold went to Russia's Mariya Savinova in 1:58.10m, while compatriot Oksana Zbrozhek claimed silver, 1.1 secs off the pace.

With no Brits competing in the men's race, Britain's 18-year wait for a European indoor 800m medal continues.

There was middle-distance disappointment all round for Great Britain as Katrina Wooton could do no better than ninth in the 3000m final in

And veteran Neil Speaight came ninth out of nine in the 1500m in 3:51.54m - almost three seconds behind eighth place.

"It's really disappointing," he said. "I thought I did well to reach the final but in the end I was nowhere near strong enough."

---

RELATED: Live text commentary from day three of the European Indoor Championships in Turin

---