Melissa Courtney-Bryant Ready For Home Straight Glory in Tokyo

The Poole AC athlete started the year in the form of her life, smashing her own Welsh 3,000m record and setting a world indoor lead back in February.

A silver medal over 3,000m at the European Indoor Athletics Championships followed in March before breaking her Welsh 5,000m record and gaining the World Championships qualifying standard in May.

However, those are the only three competitive races Courtney-Bryant has run this year due to injury.

Missing the UK Championships in August after another niggle, meant the 32-year-old could not secure an automatic place for Tokyo.

As a result, Courtney-Bryant endured an agonising wait to find out whether the Great Britain selectors were confident enough of her fitness to name her in their team.

Having finally received the call, Courtney-Bryant has set her sights on that September 20 date.

“I really want to make that final,” said Courtney-Bryant, who will be making her third world championships appearance and her first over 5,000m.

“I definitely think I'm capable of it. I made the 1500m final two years ago. I feel like I've got a lot more potential in the 5k that we haven't really touched on yet.

“I showed a little bit of that in running the 3k in 8:28 indoors, and then the PB in the 5k in the summer. 

“I think there's so much more there in the 5k. I think as long as I step off that track and I know I've given it everything and done my absolute best, that's all I can ask for. 

“Hopefully that's a spot in the final and then see how high up I can finish.” 

Caption: Melissa Courtney-Bryant will be delighted to get back on the track in Tokyo. Pic Owen Morgan

At times even getting to Tokyo seemed a long shot as injury threatened to derail a season which started with enormous promise in February.

At the star-studded New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, Courtney-Bryant smashed her Welsh 3,000m record by nine seconds and posted a new world lead racing to a spectacular victory.

The time of 8:28.69 put her second on the British all-time 3,000m indoor rankings, just behind Laura Muir. 

The performance appeared to be the perfect preparation for the European Indoor Championships in the Netherlands the following month.

However, there was a fly in the ointment.

“I hurt my calf in the last 100 meters. So I didn't do much training between Boston and European indoors,” said Courtney-Bryant. 

“A lot of cross training, but not as much running as I would have liked. So it was such a relief to still medal there.” 

Earning a European 3,000m silver medal on such limited training appeared to bode well for the outdoor season.

Courtney-Bryant opened her summer with another brilliant run at the Los Angeles Sound Running Track Fest in May.

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The Commonwealth Games 1500m bronze medallist smashed her own Welsh 5,000m record by five-and-a-half seconds – giving her the qualifying times for both next year’s Commonwealth Games and the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.

Agonisingly, the record-breaking performance once again came at a cost.

Courtney-Bryant recalls: “With about 800 meters to go I knew I was on for the World Champs qualifying standard, but I felt my calf tighten up, I just knew I'd torn it. 

“I thought, ‘okay, I've either got to stop now, or push through it, which is obviously not a sensible decision to make. 

“But I knew I was on for the time, and I thought if I just slow down a little bit I can just do enough to get the time. 

“It resulted in a PB, and I got the time. So it was kind of bittersweet, because I finished, and everyone was like,’ wow, you ran a PB, you must be so happy’. 

“But I knew there was so much more there, and I knew I’d badly hurt my calf.” 

Once again, Courtney-Bryant had to rehabilitate the injury and rely on cross-training, exercise bike and pool work to maintain fitness.

The next target was the Novuna UK Athletics Championships in August, which incorporated the Great Britain trials for Tokyo.

Having already clocked the qualifying time, a top two finish would book Courtney-Bryant automatic selection.

“I wanted to do British champs, and things were going really well,” she said. “But unfortunately, just a week out, I had a little setback, and it was just too risky to race.

“That was even harder, because then selection was out of my hands.”

Despite having been in the form of her life, Courtney-Bryant’s dreams of a third World Championships were very much in the balance.

However, the athlete who has overcome a number of injury setbacks in the past, wasn’t about to give up.

Courtney-Bryant and coach Rob Denmark set about proving her fitness to the GB selectors.

“We just kept in discussion with the selectors and British Athletics, being completely honest with where I was at in training, how I was making progress,” she said.

“But it did make those few weeks way more anxious then I wanted them to be, because you just can't predict what will happen selection wise.

“The sessions I was doing were really good, and that was the main thing. I knew I was in really good shape before British champs. It just became a little bit of a risk when I had that setback.

“But we built back and the sessions became a lot quicker, and everything just progressed. 

“We had all that data that they could see. I've cross trained so much this year. A lot more than I ever have. But it has obviously worked because I have kept really fit.”

Finally, the hard work paid off when Courtney-Bryant received the selectors’ call.

“I was really excited, and honestly, just so relieved,” she said. “It's been a really bumpy year and very challenging. To get that call was such a relief.

“I was jumping up and down when I got the call. It's only actually sunk in during the last couple days that it is actually real. Now I've got the kit, and I'm actually starting to think about it, and I'm planning to go.”

With the World Championships being held later than usual, there has been speculation that some athletes may be jaded and tired following an elongated season by the time the event starts on September 13.

That shouldn’t be a concern for Courtney-Bryant.  “I feel really fresh,” she said. “And I’m hoping everyone else will be a bit more tired! 

“I’m just excited to get out and race, because I missed it so much. Not being able to race since May has just made me realise how much I love doing it.” 

“I'm feeling really good, each session is just getting better and better and I’m feeling more confident.

“I did a session today that was really good. I took a lot of confidence from that session. I'm just really excited to see what I can do.”

Courtney-Bryant, who lines up in her 5,000m heat on September 18, will be joined in Tokyo by fellow Welsh athletes Jeremiah Azu, Hannah Brier and Abi Pawlett.