Shot putter Sophie McKinna aims for Paris Olympics

Sophie McKinna has her sights set on the Olympics

Shot putter Sophie McKinna has set her sights on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games after recovering from a serious elbow injury.

The 29-year-old from Gorleston, Norfolk, missed much of the 2023 season after she underwent surgery.

Now she is back in full training and set to compete in next month's UK Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

"That's my first step on the path to Paris. I'm determined and I'll never rule out the Olympics," she said.

"I'm not unrealistic about the fact it will be very hard considering what I've been through with injury, but I'm not ruling it out and training is full steam ahead to hopefully get to that Olympic Games."

Sophie McKinna at home in recovery from elbow surgery

McKinna said there was a "massive period" when she thought she would have to retire.

"It took me a lot of time to have the confidence to throw with the same sort of force I was throwing before," she said.

"Even though I was back in the circle earlier than expected, I wasn't throwing at full force for some time. The confidence is now back."

She said competing was when she felt "most alive".

"I'm coming to the last part of my career now and I really want to finish it with a bang and finish on a high," she said.

If McKinna makes it to Paris, she will be looking to improve on her 17th-place finish at the Covid-affected Games in Tokyo in 2021 when she had to isolate for 14 days during the build-up.

She said she had been nursing an elbow injury during this period, too.

"I actually broke the elbow three years ago and kind of limped it through the last three seasons, but it got to the point where it needed surgical intervention for me to basically be able to continue throwing," the athlete said.

"It was about letting it heal and then managing the injury over time because it caused inflammation in the joint which was pressing on the nerves which was causing problems with my hand, so it was quite an extensive injury by the time I had that surgical intervention," she said.

"The surgery was more complicated than it would have been originally but I had to get through the last few years because of the Olympics".