Andover’s Holly Mills misses out on World Indoor medal

Holly Mills, 21, from Hurstbourne Tarrant, missed out on bronze by just seven points at the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Belgrade as she completed the competition at fourth spot.

The Andover Athletics Club heptathlete, however, will have huge confidence to take away from Belgrade as she was one of the youngest among all pentathletes.

Mills lined up in the competition alongside compatriot and current World Indoor Champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson. But she had to withdraw from the event after four rounds while she was trailing behind Mills.

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Noor Vidts of Belgium claimed the gold medal with 4929 points, followed home by Adrianna Sulek (Poland) with 4851 points and Kendell Williams (USA) claimed bronze 4680 points. Mills scored 4673 points.

Mills started the event off in style in the 60m hurdles as she recorded a personal best of 8.15s (1095pts) which was joint quickest alongside Belgium’s Vidts. In the same heat Johnson-Thompson opened with a time of 8.45s (1028pts).

In the high jump, the Andover athlete cleared 1.74m (903pts), while Johnson-Thompson recorded 1.83m (1016pts).

Heading into the shot-put event, the reigning champion Johnson-Thompson threw the best of her series on her first throw, landing a mark at 13.02m. Mills improved as the competition went on, and her third and final effort reached 13.63m to give her a further 773 points.

Johnson-Thompson led the British duo heading into the evening session in fifth position, with compatriot Mills sixth on 2773 and 2771 points respectively. But it was the Andover athlete who climbed to fourth following a second-round best of 6.28m for 937 points, with Johnson-Thompson notching a season’s best of 6.08m for 874 points. But she had to withdraw from the competition just before the 800m.

Mills concluded her campaign with a bold front-run in the 800m to a personal best of 2:09.97, good enough for third spot and 965 points. But she missed out on bronze by just seven points, recording an indoor PB of 4673 points.

Holly Mills. Photo from her Instagram @Holly.Mills_

After the event, Mills said: “I really did give it absolutely everything and to be honest I ran exactly how the plan was. I went through 400m in 62secs, I stretched out to 500m and that last 200m was messy with the other girls coming up, a few heal clippings so I can’t look back and think ‘what if’. I went at it with everything I had and today it wasn’t enough, by half-a-second, so obviously that’s gutting but I did exactly what I set out to do.

“I turned around and I saw Kendell [Williams] cross the line and I was like ‘oh my god, this is going to come down to single figures’ and it did and she got it today so fourth for me, just missing out on the podium.

“Right now, the feeling is one of disappointment because you go through all that pain of running the 800m and you cross the line and it’s relief that you’ve finished but at the same time you just wish there was that extra half-a-second, so at the moment, yes, I am gutted but tomorrow when I look back and see my points PB and coming fourth in the world it’s not the end of the world.

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“I definitely think I was one of the youngest in the field, I am a 2000 baby and they are all like eight or ten years older than me so I know I’ve got a long career ahead of me. This is what’s going to make me learn and make me move forward. Even though I still see myself as quite amateur in terms of multi-events because I’ve been doing it for the least amount of time out of everyone, I am actually meant to be here and I don’t look out of place and that I can contend with these kind of athletes which is amazing.”

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