Newbury's Charlotte Payne secures European Championship place after dominant hammer throw display

Charlotte Payne continued her fine season with victory in the women’s hammer at the under-23 & under-20 Championships, which helped her secure a place at the European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

Coming into the competition, Payne was ranked first in the UK and is in some very strong form having claimed bronze at the Loughborough International earlier this month.

Payne, from Newbury, threw 60.92m in the under-20 women’s hammer to beat Kirst Costello’s 59.19m.

“My plan for this year is dependent on the team selection so being confirmed as part of the team is a weight off my mind,” said Payne.

“Now I can focus on preparing for the Europeans and really commit to training instead of competing and aiming to qualify.

“I love the experience of an international championships and can't wait to go through it all again.

“I'm very pleased with my consistency this year,” she said. “Knowing I can comfortably throw 60m is a huge confidence boost when I heading into a tough competition such as Europeans or even the Senior British Championships this weekend.

“The consistency also shows that all the training with my throws coach and my gym coach is working and this is always reassuring to see.”

Having competed in recent competitions, Payne believes she has the experience to achieve success at the championships.

“I feel like I have improved mentally in competitions which is great as the mental stress of an international championships is immense.

“This year I am looking forward to the Championships instead of the big bundle of nerves I was last time.

“I really want to enjoy the experience as representing Team GB has forever been a dream of mine so the fact that I have been lucky enough to represent them four times now is incredible to me.”