Olympic hopefuls react to qualifying failures

High jumper Joel Clarke-Khan, from Worcester, said he still had other goals beyond the Olympics

Two Olympic hopefuls who failed to qualify for the games have spoken to the BBC about their futures in sport.

Triple jumper Ben Williams, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, said having his dream thwarted by a back injury was "gut-wrenching".

Meanwhile Worcester high jumper Joel Clarke-Khan described feeling a "moment of nothingness" in the aftermath of his failure to qualify.

However, the pair both have different outlooks about whether they will continue to compete.

Clarke-Khan has won the British Championships three times, and came fifth at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

He needed a new personal best to achieve the qualifying height of 2.33m, but went out at his starting height.

"As soon as that bar came down, the third attempt, and I knew that not only the competition was finished, but my Olympic dreams for 2024 were over," he said.

"I walked off and lay on the floor for about 15 minutes," he told BBC Hereford and Worcester.

"I was just looking at the sky and it was just a moment of nothingness."

Clarke-Khan left the stadium and sat on a nearby bench to collect his thoughts.

He then heard his girlfriend, Molly Caudery, being called on the stadium tannoy. She was about to compete in qualifying for the women's pole vault.

"I thought well, my day's happened, let's go and watch Moll, she's going to smash it," he said.

"She did, she qualified, that was a real mood riser for me."

Clarke-Khan remains positive, and will travel to Paris to watch Ms Caudery compete.

"I think she's a real favourite. There could be a potential gold medal there. That's not something I'd ever miss," he said.

"There are still plenty of competitions after the Olympics, this season doesn't have to be done and dusted for me."

Ben Williams, pictured at the 2022 European Championships in Munich, was thwarted by a back injury

Meanwhile, Williams clinched silver at the UK Athletics Championships at the weekend.

He said he already knew he was injured, and had an MRI scan on Monday which had been booked for weeks.

He told BBC Radio Stoke he needed "rest to recover from whatever is going on in my back, I just haven't had the time to rest."

"I think my body has told me enough is enough. As much as my body is breaking down, my mind also is, in this sport."

Williams said he had big decisions to make about his future.

"The enjoyment is still there, the meaning is always going to be there, but the satisfaction isn't quite there. It hasn’t been for the last two years," he said.

"I would like to compete again this year, but in terms of championships and moving forward in the sport, I think that this is me done."

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