THE tears that flowed down Chelmsford Athletic Club's Jess Judd's cheeks told their own story after she agonisingly missed out on a Commonwealth Games medal in Glasgow.
The 19-year-old faded in the final straight of a sprint finish to a dramatic 800m final at Hampden Park to end up fourth in a time of 2:01.91minutes.
The race was won by reigning world champion Eunice Jepkoech Sum which says a lot about the class of the field that Judd had to contend with in Glasgow.
Under normal circumstances fourth on your Commonwealth Games debut in a world-class field before your 20th birthday would be something to shout about.
But Judd, who is mentored by marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe, is no normal teenager and she was devastated after the race.
"I was just concentrating on running a good bend – I did that but then my legs started to go. I gave it everything but it just wasn't to be," she said.
"It's devastating because I really wanted that medal – it's better than last but it's devastating.
"I was so close with 150m to go but my legs just died – I've had a bit of cough but I don't know what happened.
"I went from feeling really strong to just dying – I thought I just have to keep going which I did. I did everything possible but it just wasn't to be.
"If you'd have told me I would get fourth at the start of the season I would have laughed but it's really disappointing."
All is not lost for Judd who still has the European Championships to come in less than a fortnight's time where she can hope to set the record straight.
There was something for the Glasgow crowd to cheer though as Lynsey Sharp took silver – a medal Judd admitted she would have loved to get her hands on.
"Fourth is a horrible place to finish – I'll go again for the Europeans but I thought this was the one for me," she added.
"I'm really proud because I did everything I possibly could and I just have to go back and work on what went wrong.
"I'm so happy for Lynsey getting a medal but so jealous – I'll work and train to get back and see what happens.
"I thought whatever happens I'm going to cry – it's been really stressful and really tiring.
"I'm just so disappointed I came out of it without a medal but I tried my hardest which is all I can do.
"Tactically it was perfect – I got myself in a really good position but I was absolutely knackered."
Commonwealth Games England (CGE) leads and manages the participation of the Team England at the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games. We work with sports, Sponsors and Sport England to support the development of athletes and their sports, and to achieve success at Games-time.
