Miller hoping for good weather as she bids to qualify for Barcelona

RISING sprint hurdler Yasmin Miller admits her hopes of booking a ticket to Barcelona for the World Junior Championships this weekend rely on what goes on up above as much as below.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY: Yasmin Miller is hoping for settled conditions at the England Under-20 Championships in Bedford this weekend

The 17-year-old travels to Bedford for the trial event – the England Under-20 Championships – still needing to clock the 100m hurdles qualifying standard of 13.70seconds.

Miller isn’t a million miles away having run 13.93 at the Loughborough International and, should she hit it at the trials, victory thereafter will guarantee her a world junior place.

She remains confident, drawing inspiration that her time in Loughborough was run amid chilly and windy conditions, but believes the heavens may decide her fate.

“I am hoping to get the qualifying time for Barcelona but the weather and the conditions have been awful so far, so fingers crossed they will improve,” she said.

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“My best this season is 13.93, just 0.23 off the time I need to qualify, but as I was only born in 1995 I have already been told that I might be a bit young to take without the necessary qualifying time.

“But I would ideally like to get under the time. My training is going really well, it is my best season as far as training goes.

“I have increased the intensity and made it much tougher for myself to try and get the results on the track.

“I am concentrating on my trailing leg and lead leg and my general technique over the hurdles but unfortunately the weather hasn’t been great so I haven’t had the best times in competitions.

“If I get to Barcelona, my goal would be to get to the final, although realistically I would hope to get through the heats into the semi-finals, the competition will be very tough.”

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With the team for the World Junior Championships not being announced until June 25, Miller, feasibly, has a week still to prove her worth should it not all go to plan in Bedford.

She has a place on the starting line at the Olympic trials pencilled in for that weekend but Miller admits she is happy to bid her time for 12 more months.

“My main ambition for the Olympic trials is to record a good time. I would like to get through the heats, but I am really going to go there for the experience,” she added.

“I am hoping this time next year to be the best hurdler in my age group, and build on things from there.”

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