Ely's Goldie is Going For Gold in Beijing

GOLDIE Sayers easily qualified for the Olympic javelin final on Thursday after throwing 62.99m in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Goldie, who lives in Ely, has been suffering from a stomach bug at the Macau holding camp, but on her arrival at the Bird

GOLDIE Sayers easily qualified for the Olympic javelin final on Thursday after throwing 62.99m in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Goldie, who lives in Ely, has been suffering from a stomach bug at the Macau holding camp, but on her arrival at the Bird's Nest stadium she still managed a first round throw of 60.79m and improved in the second round to make up for the disappointment of missing last year's World Championship final. She qualified in fifth place overall, behind Germans Christina Obergfoll (European record holder) and Steffi Nerius, world champion Barbora Spotakova of the Czech Republic and Maria Abakumova of Russia, coming second in her group.

Afterwards she said: "That's job done, I'm pleased. I've got the feel for the track and I'm looking forward to the final.

"I'm just looking to perform to the best of my ability so I can walk off the track like I have done today and be satisfied with what I've done.

"I think 64 or 65 metres could make a medal and I'm capable of that so I'm looking to throw as far as I possibly can and if I can walk away with a medal I'll be ecstatic."

Her former coach Steve Backley, himself an Olympic medallist, said he thought Goldie had an outside chance of winning a medal.

Goldie's mother, Liz Sayers, said her daughter had been throwing well in training, hitting personal bests.