Newbury's Izzy Fry has 'no regrets' after eighth-placed finish at European Championships in Estonia

Izzy Fry has labelled her performance as a ‘learning experience’ after she finished eighth in the women’s 5000m at the European U23 Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.

The 21-year-old finished in a time of 16:01.06 and the event was won by Italy’s Nadia Battocletti, who recorded a time of 15:37.04.

Although the Newbury athlete was hoping for a higher finish, she believes the experience will benefit her in the long run.

“I went into the Championships wanting more, but on reflection I performed to the best of my ability on the day and although it wasn’t what I hoped for I have no regrets.

“A lot of things were thrown my way that day, and that week, and I am proud of myself for staying composed and dealing with all the adversity.

“It was a completely new learning experience and I have taken a lot away from it and I guess that is the main positive.”

The championships in Estonia were one of the first major events taking place since before the coronavirus pandemic and Fry was thrilled to be involved.

“The fact that the Championships were even on was something I was grateful for and it’s always an honour to put on the GB vest.

“No matter what the result, as long as I can walk away saying I gave it my best then I am always proud and the week as a whole was a great experience.”

Having had a few days to reflect on her own performance, Fry has identified the areas where she can improve.

“At first I was pretty disappointed, but now it is a case as looking at it as a huge learning experience and trying to take forward what I have learnt from being in a championship race.

“I can’t dwell on it too much, I just have to take the positives because I learned how to deal with tactical racing.”

Fry also explained how she had to use tactics, but it she had to battle through hurdles to finish eighth.

“The first 3k was really messy and I think I used quite a lot of energy by panicking that I wasn’t in the right position at points.

“Once the break came, I missed that break and it felt like a missed opportunity of being up there with the next group of girls, so the last 2k I was running around on my own.

“Before my race there was a power cut in the stadium and we had to wait for 30 minutes before the power could come on and in the end they had to hand time us because it didn’t come back on.

“Different things like that help you learn about things that might happen on the day that matters most, but it’s about trying to control it.”

Fry admitted that she will spend the next few weeks dropping down to 1500m in order to focus on different aspects of her form.

“I think it will be fun to change my focus from 5k to 1500m because the races I have done this season, there has always been an underlining pressure because I have had to run the time, the standard or I have to win the trials and perform at the Championships.

“Now I can go to the start line smiling and give it my best with no pressure, so I am really looking forward to that,” she added.