SHARP EXIT IN GOLD COAST HAS FIRED LYNSEY UP

LYNSEY SHARP plans to channel the anger from her Commonwealth Games nightmare into realising her dream of a return to the podium when she opens up her European Athletics Championships in Berlin today. The 2012 800 metres champion made a shock exit in Gold Coast in the opening round that felt like a punch in the gut. ‘It hurt a lot — it still hurts a lot,’ the 28-year-old said ahead of the 800m heats. ‘I wish I hadn’t gone as it took a lot out of me and I got nothing out of it. But I learned a lot from it. I was under the weather. ‘Looking back, it was pretty rough. But the hunger was definitely there even if my body wasn’t co-operating.’ She returned to her training base in San Diego to nurse her wounds and heal her mind. And although Sharp picked up in the early summer where she left off in the spring, coming a lowly fifth at the British trials, her form has rocketed in recent weeks with the Scot heading into the Euros as the second-ranked woman in the field behind France’s Renelle Lamote. Switching to America was always going to bring a few stutters here and there. ‘It has taken time to get used to it,’ she added. ‘Life is different out there. Maybe it has taken time to figure things out but I’m feeling positive about the next few years. ‘It’s a couple of years until the Tokyo Olympics and I’ve done some long-term planning. Now we know certain things which do work and some which don’t.’ Four years on from her last championship medal feels like too long. ‘I have two European medals and having missed out on a Commonwealth medal this year, it’s a big thing,’ she stated. ‘I miss medals and I want to get one.’ Fellow Scots Eilidh Doyle and Kirsten McAslan start today in the opening round of the 400m hurdles and while 2014 champion Doyle has had to find full fitness quickly after two months out injured, McAslan has had an even more meteoric rise in her first full season since switching from the 400m. Already a world championship medallist in the relay, McAslan made the switch to Loughborough last year in what was initially an experimental shot at a new discipline. The results, including second at the trials, suggest she is on a trajectory towards the likes of Doyle and her fellow elite. ‘I think I’ve found my event now,’ the 24-year-old said. ‘It was a bit rough at the start of the season. It was only when I got back from the Commonwealths that I started in the hurdles again so I was rusty. I had to find my stride pattern but now I have, I’m getting quicker all the time. ‘This time last year, I’d never done a hurdles race. I’d get very nervous and that was the main thing I had to get past, not being scared of the barriers. ‘My coach has been really patient in getting me through the mental side.’ Meanwhile, Great Britain captain Dai Greene was ruled out of the Championships after his injury curse struck again. The 2011 world champion, back in the squad for the first time since 2013, suffered a tight hamstring in the warm-up for the 400m hurdles heats yesterday and has withdrawn.