Great Britain's Abbie Wood has revealed that her success earlier this week ensured that the pressure was off going into the women's 200m individual medley at the European Games.
Wood added a bronze medal to her collection in Baku this afternoon, recording a personal best time of 2:14.49 to pip Italy's Sara Franceschi to the final podium spot.
Having also won a gold in the 400m event on Tuesday, as well as a silver and bronze as part of the relay teams, Wood spoke to Sports Mole to reflect on a successful meet which has surpassed her expectations.
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Congratulations Abbie! Are you happy with bronze?
"Yeah, definitely. After the 400m IM gold I knew it would be hard to keep going, back-to-back, as it's such a long week but I'm definitely happy I medalled."
Were you expecting to medal going into the race?
"No, definitely not. It was anyone's game because it was such close times going into the final, but I followed it through."
You must be happy with that time as well...
"Definitely. It was a PB by about a second and I haven't done my PB since last year, apart from when I did it in the semi, and I thought I couldn't go any faster!"
Are you confident that you're progressing at a good rate then?
"Definitely. Slow and steady, but a second here is more than enough."
Was there more expectation and pressure on your shoulders after your gold earlier in the week?
"If anything I had less pressure because I'd done what I wanted to do. But I still wanted to do the best I could because of the circumstances."
How much confidence did you take from that gold?
"A lot! I thought I was just doing it for the experience but to get a gold here is just amazing."
Can you sum up your Baku experience?
"It's amazing, a medal is the standout. But it being a multi-sport event and Team GB being really close, it's just the biggest competition that I've ever done."
Has it been better than you anticipated?
"Definitely. I didn't think it was going to be on this big of a scale - it's definitely bigger than the European Juniors. It's amazing."
And from a personal standpoint, it's been a successful Games for you...
"Definitely. Two individual medals and then two relay medals from the heats. Definitely more than I expected."
