Bradford hammer thrower Sarah Holt is adamant lightning won’t strike twice in Helsinki this week after her European Championship warm-up ended in Olympic disappointment.

Holt will make her senior British debut in Finland this week but is well aware that she needs to up her game after a tough day at the office in Birmingham.

Despite sitting second on the British rankings heading into the Olympic trial,s Holt could only manage a throw of 63.94m to finish fourth.

The 25-year-old was ultimately upstaged by UK record holder Sophie Hitchon, five years her junior, who sealed her London 2012 berth by throwing 69.79m on her way to victory.

Holt’s dreams of appearing at a home Games are now slimmer than slim with the Bradford hammer thrower needing to add three metres to her personal best in both qualifying and the final in Helsinki.

And Holt admits she is only focusing on making a solid start to her international career this week, rather than dreaming of the near-unthinkable.

“The trials went really badly,” said Holt. “It was one of the worst results of the season. I got my personal best at this stadium so the venue’s no excuse, I don’t know why but it didn’t click – sometimes that happens.

“I’ve got the European Championships to look to now so I’ll have to come back quickly by getting into my training. It was a bad day but I’ve had a good season so I can’t judge a season on one day.

“I didn’t get the Olympic qualifying standard at the trials so I guess I would go to the Europeans and see what happens.

“I should be a lot further up than where I am in the rankings but it’s just not happened. I’m just going to go to the Europeans now and throw my best. It will be my first senior championships.”

While it will be Holt’s debut for Britain at a major senior championships in Helsinki it won’t be her first taste of international global competition.

The 25-year-old represented England at the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010 but failed to make it through qualifying.

However, having seen the Commonwealth Games clouded by an injury problem, Holt believes it can be a different story in Finland when her competition gets underway on Friday morning.

“I’ve competed for the senior team before but not at a senior championships bar Delhi,” she added. “That didn’t go well though, I was injured and it was one of these occasions where I wasn’t fit enough to go.

“But it was a great experience and I can draw on that for the Europeans. I need to get it technically right because my body is in good nick.”

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