Epsom & Ewell Harriers Rosie Clarke may have been disappointed after finishing sixth over 1,500m in the European Indoor Athletics Championships, but her coach soon put her right.

The 23-year-old clocked four minutes 16.49 seconds in Prague on Sunday – four seconds outside her personal best of 4:12.18 – as Sifan Hassan of Holland took gold in 4:09.04.

The Harrier currently second in the UK women’s rankings over 1,500m, is studying for a management degree in New York.

However, she will return to the UK in June with renewed determination to chip away at that PB and qualify for the World Championships in China in August.

She said: “The European Indoor Championships were such a special occasion for me.

“Being selected to represent Great Britain is what every British athlete dreams of, and so when I received the call-up I was ecstatic.

“When I initially stepped off the track after the race I was disappointed with my performance, but my coach [Tom Watson] quickly pointed out all the positives from my performance.

“He soon swayed me that sixth in Europe in your first international championship is not too bad.”

She added: “On the start line I felt really good and really excited because it is my first time in a GB vest and it means the world to me.

“It’s a shame I could not have run a little bit better but it’s a massive learning curve and it’s the first time I’ve been to a major championships.”

Clarke’s indoor season still has one week left to run as she returns to university across the Atlantic, but she says the experience in the Czech Republic will be one that can serve her well.

“I was happy with how fast Hassan went off because I thought either she will make it really really slow because no one will go around her or she will go off and the rest of us can run a bit of an honest race,” she added.

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“You always have to respect your competitors and some of them have run very quickly but I try to take it all in my stride and crack on.

“I’m not particularly happy with the time but I can learn from it and I would have liked to run a bit quicker but it happens.”

Clarke has been racing competitively for 10 years having made her debut at the South-East Schools Counties Championship in June 2005.

On that day, as a 13-year-old, Clarke recorded 4:58.60 for her 1,500m run – and she knows the reason behind her continued improvement over the distance.

She said: “Hard work does pay off. Just stay focused, keep on training hard, and remember that racing is the fun part.

“Now I’m very excited about the upcoming outdoor season, and hope to chip away at my PB and get as close to the qualification standard for the World Championships as possible.”