• London Olympics 2012

Sotherton targets Olympic qualification in Italy

ESPN staff
May 4, 2012
Kelly Sotherton is looking to secure the Olympic qualifying standard in Italy © PA Photos
Enlarge

Read Kelly Sotherton's latest London 2012 Olympic column for ESPN here

Kelly Sotherton insists securing a place at London 2012 is her sole priority as she prepares to complete her first heptathlon in nearly four years.

The Athens 2004 bronze medallist is bidding to hit the Olympic qualifying standard at the World Combined Events Challenge in Italy this weekend.

Sotherton needs to hit the 'A' qualifying mark of 6150 points, but with competition for places in the Great Britain team tight, Sotherton, whose lifetime best is 6547, has set herself a target of 6300.

"My only job is to secure the qualification score, and that's all I'm going there for," Sotherton told the Daily Telegraph. "I'm not going there to win and I'm not going there to be competitive.

"I've got my own agenda and I know what I've got to do. For each event I've got my worst-case and best-case scenario and as long as I hit the worst-case, that will be OK and I'll still qualify."

With former world champion Jessica Ennis one of the leading medal contenders this summer, Sotherton is vying with Commonwealth champion Louise Hazel and former youth gold medalist Katarina Johnson-Thompson for the two remaining places.

"I really need a safe qualification so that it would be a stretch for Katarina or Louise to overtake me," Sotherton said. "If I can get to 6300, then I think it would be very safe."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices