Dobriskey adds to British medal tally

Aug 23 2009

Great Britain reached their target of five medals at the World Championships in Berlin - although the colour of one was the subject of debate.

Lisa Dobriskey finished third in the women's 1,500 metres to secure Britain's fifth medal, but was then upgraded to silver when Spain's Natalia Rodriguez was disqualified.

Rodriguez had attempted to overtake leader Gelete Burka of Ethiopia down the inside with around 200m to go, but the pair collided and Burka was sent crashing to the track.

Rodriguez stumbled but was able to continue and crossed the line first ahead of Maryam Yusuf Jamal of Bahrain, with Dobriskey just 0.01s behind.

Rodriguez was subsequently disqualified but the Spanish team inevitably lodged an appeal.

"It was so close to the finish I just thought 'Don't screw it up, don't come fourth or fifth,'" said Dobriskey, who was fourth in the Olympic final last year after misjudging her tactics.

"The opposite happened to Beijing, I was just running out of petrol in the last few metres. It's quite a satisfying feeling because I couldn't have done any more.

"It was a true championship race with lots of pushing and shoving and, having come through the rounds it really made me believe I'm a true championship performer now.

"I wouldn't like a silver medal on default, I would rather stick with the bronze."