Jenny Selman ready for senior international debut at ripe old age of 30 after brilliant UK title triumph

Fifer Jenny Selman booked a ticket to next month’s world indoor championships in Belgrade with a brilliant UK title win in Birmingham that left Jemma Reekie in the shade.

The women’s 800 metres final turned into a Battle of the Scots with Reekie, fourth at last year’s Olympics, hitting the front but then left for dead as Selman bolted by to take victory in 2:08.29.

The Fifer, who a funding manager for Edinburgh Leisure, has taken a long route to what will be her senior international debut at the ripe old age of 30, some 13 years after she emerged as a prodigy at the European junior championships but then passed through several points when she was ready to walk away from the sport.

“It’s kind of surreal,” she said. “It’s my first British Championship gold. I wasn’t expecting it at all.

Jenny Selman celebrates with the gold medal after winning the women's 800 metres final at UK Indoor Championships in Birmingham

“I was the fastest coming into the race but obviously Jemma is such a good athlete and has run much faster times. So I wasn’t expecting that at all.

“I’m in the shape of my life at the moment. I’ve run big personal bests recently and so I was feeling really confident

“But I’ve not done an 800 at a championships for six or seven years. In terms of race practice and experience, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel. But I’m just really pleased to have made it through and come away with the win.”

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