Novice pairing Hayter and Wood win bronze
MAX LITCHFIELD may have just won his first senior medal at a major championship, but the Pontefract swimmer insists this is just the beginning after several years of pain.
The 23-year-old took European Championship bronze in the men’s 200m individual medley in Glasgow to finally finish on the podium after three previous fourth-place finishes.
It also comes just four months after a shoulder injury ruled him out of the Commonwealth Games and Litchfield admits he is delighted to finish a major meet on a high.
“I have come fourth a few too many times so to finally come and break that curse is good. Three fourths at global level is tough,” he said.
“I am always disappointed and people are saying to me you are fourth in the world but for me it is not about coming fourth, it is about being the best.
“It is frustrating but people have to go through times in their career where they don’t make it but for me it makes sure I come back even better and there is more to come.”
It was a successful night in the pool for Yorkshire swimmers, with James Wilby collecting his second of the meet in the men’s 200m breaststroke.
The York swimmer backed up a silver medal in the 100m with another last night and now he has more in his sights.
“I’ve got the 50 yet, so I’ll do the 50 first, then any relay commitments if I have any and then maybe I’ll celebrate, but for now there’s more work to be done,” he said.
Adam Peaty has his eyes set on a clean sweep in the pool after bringing home another gold for Great Britain. Peaty was part of the 4 x 100metre mixed medley relay team that stormed to gold in the final race on Monday at the European Championships.
The quartet of Peaty, Georgia Davies, Freya Anderson and James Guy set a new European record – 3minutes 40.18 seconds – with a stunning performance that left the rest of the pool trailing in their wake. OLLIE WOOD had never ridden with Madison partner Ethan Hayter before, but after securing European bronze on the boards of Glasgow, their partnership is only just beginning.
The pair had the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome on their feet as a scintillating late attack saw them secure a vital lap, with a final sprint proving enough to earn their place on the event podium.
Confusion reigned as points were calculated but once their third place was confirmed the cheers only got louder, Hayter backing up his omnium gold earlier in the week in style.
For Wakefield’s Wood meanwhile, this achievement came just 24 hours after competing in a gruelling points race that had left him physically and mentally fatigued.
“Ethan surpassed what he wanted to do in the omnium, it was a great ride and maybe we carried the speed to our strength in the last ten laps,” said Wood, also a European bronze medallist in the team pursuit.
“We had a bit of a bad patch in the middle – or maybe I did – I can’t speak for Ethan, but we haven’t been training specifically for that race so we can’t be too unhappy with that. It’s the first time me and Ethan have ridden together, we were trying to win –we didn’t just come here just looking for a medal.”
SSE customers can get up to 48 hour advanced ticketing, lounge upgrades, exclusive competitions and VIP experiences at our sponsored venues, The SSE Arena, Wembley and The SSE Hydro. We’re also incredibly proud to support The SSE Women’s FA Cup. ssereward.com