GOLDIE Sayers had a frustrating day at the London Grand Prix on Friday when she suffered an Achilles heel injury that has interrupted her training for the European Championships. Despite the injury Sayers still managed to win the bronze medal with a throw

GOLDIE Sayers had a frustrating day at the London Grand Prix on Friday when she suffered an Achilles heel injury that has interrupted her training for the European Championships.

Despite the injury Sayers still managed to win the bronze medal with a throw of 56.83 metres, while South Africans Justine Robbeson and Sunette Viljoen took gold and silver with throws of 60.80m and 59.22m respectively.

The Ely-based athlete said: "I felt pain in my left foot as I planted it down while warming up and when you're running at high speed, preparing to throw a javelin, there's an awful lot of force, more than three times your body weight goes down on it. It felt like a very serious injury at the time."

Sayers had just returned to full fitness after suffering a severe bout of bronchitis in May, and the added interruption to her training programme is extremely frustrating for the former King's School student.

She said yesterday: "I've been focusing all my efforts on the European Championships and I just want to get on with my training so this has just come at the worst time. My foot is starting to heal rapidly and I'm confident that I'll be back in training in the next couple of days so I've no doubt that I'll be fully fit in time."

The European Championships, in Gothenburg, start on Monday.