Lynsey Sharp leads GB charge to 800m semi-finals in Berlin

Lynsey Sharp is hunting for gold in Berlin. Picture: Getty.

Sharp ran in the first round of the women’s 800m on day two of the athletics in Berlin and progresses to today’s semi-finals after clocking 2:00.32 to finish second in the first heat.

The Great Britain team is making a three-pronged assault on the 800m title in Germany and Sharp’s team-mates Adelle Tracey (2:01.91) and Shelayna Oskan-Clarke (2:04.08) also progressed.

Fellow Scot and British 800m champion Laura Muir has elected to purely focus on the 1500m in Berlin, meaning Sharp is leading the British challenge as she seeks to win a title she claimed in Helsinki in 2012.

“I’ve been climbing the walls just waiting to get out,” said the Dumfries runner, 28. “It’s been a boring couple of days and I needed to get out and compete.

“I felt so much more like myself out there and I was getting excited as I ran around feeling like me again.

“I was having to keep it under control though, which I did, and keep relaxed in the home straight. I don’t get excited very much.

“The 2012 and 2014 (Europeans) were really different and this one’s different again. I’m definitely on the hunt for a medal and to get that gold outright (Sharp finished behind Yelena Arzhakova in 2012 before her Russian rival was banned for doping) instead of being upgraded. It’s a massive goal for me.”

Scotland’s Kirsten McAslan also proved her mettle on day two as she progressed to today’s women’s 400m hurdles semi-finals, where she will join fellow Scot Eilidh Doyle and Great Britain team-mate Meghan Beesley.

The 24-year-old, daughter of former Scottish athletes Ewan McAslan and Fiona Hargreaves, finished second in her heat with a time of 56.78s, only three-tenths of a second outside her personal best.

“I knew I had to attack it and execute my own race,” said McAslan. “I kept on running but I still couldn’t see anyone so I thought ‘you must be doing well’.

“This whole year has been a massive learning curve and Berlin is the cherry on top.”

Doyle, Sharp and McAslan will all be in action again today, while Glasgow’s Nikki Manson competes in the women’s high jump qualifying.

There is also plenty of Scottish representation in the men’s 1500m, where Chris O’Hare and Jake Wightman get their campaigns under way in the morning session.

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