Olympic heptathlon bronze is better late than never for Kelly

Kelly Sotherton received her heptathlon bronze medal from the Beijing Olympics at last night’s Team GB Ball, the British Olympic Association has announced.

Sotherton finished fifth in Beijing 10 years ago but subsequent disqualifications for Ukraine’s Lyudmila Blonska and Russia’s Tatyana Chernova have seen Sotherton awarded her third Olympic bronze medal.

She was third in the heptathlon at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and in the 4x400 metres relay in Beijing – with the latter medal only awarded at this year’s Muller Anniversary Games following the disqualification of the Russian and Belarusian teams for doping offences.

Before the ball, Sotherton said: “It’ll be a nice feeling leading into it. Until I have the medal I don’t really know how I’m feeling.

“The 4x400m medal in the summer was great but I trained as a heptathlete and that’s the medal that I really want and it will mean quite a lot to get it.

“It’ll close a chapter of my athletics career. Receiving a medal 10 years after I should have got it is a little bittersweet but it indicates the career I had and it will finally confirm me as a three-time Olympic medallist.

“When I found out in April 2017, it was very emotional. It was the start of the journey because you never know when you’re going to get that medal.

“I got the call last month to say it had arrived and I couldn’t wait any longer.

“I wanted to get my hands on it. I had the option of waiting until Tokyo which would have been amazing but that’s too far away. I just want to have the medal.

“When my family see me with all three medals I’m sure they’ll be just as happy and emotional as I will be.”