Bennett looks for the positives after early exit

Scottish hammer thrower Chris Bennett struggled to find the positives after exiting the 2018 European Athletics Championships at the qualifying stage.

Bennett eventually finished 24th on the first day of the athletics in Berlin in an event notoriously difficult to get right on any given day.

The Aberdeenshire thrower has a personal best of 76.45m and a season’s best of 75.11m but could only produce two throws of 70 metres at the major games.

The 28-year-old also represented Great Britain at the 2016 Rio Olympics and Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“Right now I don’t really feel worthy to wear this vest,” said Bennett.

“It’s so hard because you feel good when you go out there but you just can’t change things, it’s almost like the moment passes you by before you can change anything, it’s just a really hard one to take. I felt good coming into this event but there just seems to be this problem where I can’t get my head right in a big competition.

“It’s all very well doing it in training but if you don’t do it on the big stage you feel like a bit of an in idiot.”

Elsewhere at Berlin’s Olympiastadion it was a mixed first day for Great Britain’s athletes as Nick Miller, Dan Bramble and Daryll Neita all progressed.

Sebastian Rodger was unable to make it through in the same event but there was better news elsewhere as 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Miller made it to the hammer final.

In the long jump Bramble took the limelight in the absence of Greg Rutherford, with the Brit out of contention after his first two efforts but delivering a big leap at the crucial time with his third jump to progress in fifth.

Picture: PA. Chris Bennett went out at the qualifying stage.