Perri in the running for first major final

By Dave Brown 

26 July 2010

Tower Hamlets athlete Perri Shakes-Drayton is in Portugal preparing for the European Championships – and with her eyes set on a place in the final.

The 400m hurdler will be hoping to improve on her semi-final showing in the World Championships last year having missed out on the 2008 Olympics.

The Mile End-based 21-year-old was clearly looking forward to the Barcelona championships as she packed her bags.

“I wouldn’t say I’m confident of a medal just yet,” she told East End Life.

“I’m going there with the target of reaching the final and see where that takes me. I’ve been very happy with my form this season.

“I’ve run my personal best, I’ve been in the Europa Cup and was fourth at Gateshead last week in a really strong field.”

Perri ran 54.91 in Turin earlier this season, putting her sixth on the European ranking list this year and something approaching that time in Barcelona could put her in the hunt for a medal in the Olympic stadium.

She warmed up at the Diamond League meeting in Gateshead earlier this month with 55.67 seconds for fourth place behind Jamaica’s Kaliese Spencer, Zuzana Hejnova of the Czech Republic and Angela Morosanu of Romania.

Fellow Tower Hamlets athlete Phillips Idowu – the triple jump world champion – is also in the squad.

Phillips, a former pupil at Raine’s Foundation School in Bethnal Green, will be one of the British squad’s major medal hopes at the championships and in London two years later.