Diamond looks towards 400m after World University Games relay bronze

Posted: Tuesday 13th September 2011 | 13:46

EMILY Diamond has targeted a quicker than expected step up in distances having anchored Great Britain to 4x400m bronze at the World University Games in Shenzhen last month.

ON THE MOVE: Emily Diamond will step up her conversion from 200m to 400m sprinter after securing one-lap relay bronze in China

Diamond, who normally competes over 200m, only found out she was part of the 4x400m quartet immediately after finishing agonisingly short of the podium in fourth with the 4x100m team.

However she produced a storming run on the anchor leg to bring Britain home in third, with a hugely impressive split time of 51.93seconds, and all that with a grade one tear in her quad.

The tear was revealed in a scan on her return from China but it didn't seem to have an effect on the 20-year-old in what was only her second ever race over the distance.

And such was her display that, in conjunction with her coach Jared Deacon, she has decided to speed up her conversion from 200m to 400m runner.

"I really am so happy to have finished my season with a medal," said Diamond, who benefits from being on the Spar Sprint Stars scheme.

"I don't ever really run over 400m but it's something my coach and I have been discussing for some time and after that it looks like next year we will begin the gradual process of switching.

"The aim originally was to try and crack the 400m relay squad for 2014 and the Commonwealth Games and then the individual event for the Rio Olympics in 2016.

"But now we might bring it forward a bit and from next year we will probably look to compete in a few more relays and hopefully a couple of individual events as well.

"I still want to run the 200m as well but my long-term future lies with the 400m so this is an exciting time for me at the end of a tough season."

Diamond's season has been hampered severely by injury, specifically to her hamstring and knees, but she still did enough to qualify for the 200m final in Shenzhen as well.

And in that final she produced a time of 23.58 from lane one, narrowly outside her personal best of 23.41, for eighth but enough for her to feel her season finished on a high.

"It's been a season of ups and downs but to get out and run well in a huge stadium is a nice way to cap it all off," she added.

"I'm already looking forward now to winter training and hopefully I'll come out of that injury free and raring to get into my 400m running, although the training itself won't be that different."

Brought to you by SPAR, Official Sponsors of UK Athletics, for more information visit www.spar.co.uk