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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Matt Verri

Holly Bradshaw forced to pull out of World Athletics Championships after suffering injury as pole snap

Holly Bradshaw’s World Athletics Championships came to an end in cruel, and premature, fashion.

The British pole vaulter was targeting a strong display in Eugene, after winning bronze at last year’s Olympics, but she has been forced to pull out after suffering a freak injury in practice.

Bradshaw’s pole snapped as she made a jump in practice, leading her to fall awkwardly on her neck and also hurt her back and arm. With a busy summer ahead, the Commonwealth Games and European Championships following in the space of a few weeks, the 30-year has withdrawn to prevent any further injury.

It means her wait for a first World Championships medal goes on, though she hopes to quickly put this setback behind her with such a hectic schedule to come.

Bradshaw said: “I was absolutely gutted, I was heartbroken, I was crying in the box, sobbing. It was a massive, massive shock. I’ve felt really good for the three weeks coming into this.

“It’s the first time it’s ever happened in my career, so it’s a great time for it to happen. I hope it never happens again.

“It’s just really, really, really unfortunate timing but I’ve come back from worse. I’ve still got the Commies and the Euros. I’ve had a preliminary medical exam and it’s nothing too serious.

“I’m going to get more checks tomorrow and hope it’s nothing bad and I come back for Commies and Euros. It feels out of my control. This year has been a challenge and it’s just another thing for me to negotiate past.

“There was no way I could know that was going to happen. It’s such a freak accident. It’s just one of those things that absolutely sucks

“It’s been a rocky season and a lot of things haven’t gone my way but the last three weeks have been great. I thought I could have done 4.50/60 today clean in qualification and then challenge for medals in the final.

“I am that point in my career now where if I am not battling for medals, I can’t put myself in that position and I am not going to take any risks. That is the decision I made.”

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