WHEELCHAIR racer Shelly Woods agonisingly missed out on a medal in her first event at this year’s Paralympic Games.
Woods, who lives in St Annes, finished 8th in the T54 5000 metres.
The 26-year-old, who was paralysed from the waist down after falling from a tree aged 11, did not have the strength to live with a 52.59secs last lap as she finished 1.39s behind gold medal winner Edith Wolf of Switzerland.
She told Channel 4: “The way I was feeling I thought I could shake them up a bit but I didn’t have enough. I gave it everything I had so I can’t complain. I gave it my best shot.
“I could have raced it another way by hanging back, but I am not the best sprinter.
“I have got quite a few races left, the 1500m and 800m and the marathon at the end.”