Hails former hurdles star turned coach Foster Hylton

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

GLASGOW, Scotland:

Confident and courageous, young 400m hurdler Janieve Russell, undaunted by the grand stage that she was on, made sure that she would have fond memories of her first senior international competition.

The 20-year-old one-time Holmwood Technical star athlete clocked 55.64 seconds to win bronze in the women's 400m hurdles final at the Commonwealth Games inside Hampden Park on Thursday, with compatriot and training partner Kaliese Spencer taking gold in 54.10 and Scotland's Eilidh Child, 55.02, finishing in the silver-medal position.

Russell, who now studies at the University of Technology and trains under the guidance of Stephen Francis at the MVP Track Club, said that she was very happy to have medalled in Glasgow, as she looks to establish herself as a strong athlete in the senior ranks, after dominating at the age group level.

The 2012 IAAF World Junior champion was also grateful to her coaches, including multiple sprint hurdles medallist Brigitte Foster-Hylton, who she has been working closely with at the MVP Track Club.

"I'm very happy, the aim was to come out here and get in the top three, and I'm just really happy that I was able to do that," Russell said. "I've trained very hard for this, and as Brigitte Foster said, I deserved it."

"I am very pleased with the medal, not the time, I know I can do better, but I am going to take it one step at a time and be patient," she noted.

Russell, who added that she spoke to Foster-Hylton before her final, spoke of the former world champion's impact on her development.

"It is great working with her (Brigitte Foster-Hylton) because she was once an athlete and knows how it feels it be in the battlefield of running. She's a great coach, along with Stephen Francis, and I'm glad that she was there to help me so much along with Mr Francis," Russell said.

"Coming into the event, I knew that execution was key, I wanted to focus on my lane and on my race because if I focused on anyone else I knew I would mess up. Also, since the start of the championships, I noticed that there have been a lot of disqualifications when it came to the technical events, so I just focused on my technique and execution," added Russell, who is now more determined than ever as she looks to take further strides in her senior career.

"This has shown me that anything I put my mind to, I can do it. I told myself that I am good in the 400m flat, so all I have to do is go out there and do my best and give my all here; I knew I could do it," Russell said. "When I saw Kaliese (Spencer) come off the corner, I knew it was my time to move, and I'm just happy how it all went."