HOLLY Bradshaw took a brilliant bronze in the pole vault at the European Athletics Championships last night.

The Blackburn Harrier cleared 4.75m to win her first medal at an outdoor major championships.

The 26-year-old finished fourth at the Commonwealth Games in April but showed her credentials with victory at the World Cup in London earlier this summer and she continued that form in Berlin.

And the Euxton athlete was pleased with her performance.

She said: “I have had so many fourth and fifth places so to come away with my first outdoor medal feels so good and it was such a good competition and I enjoyed it so much.

“It is the first time in four years that I have not had an injury or a surgery so I have been able to put a good block of training together and start jumping well so that is start paying to off.

“It has meant the world to me since I started in 2008 and it pays off with days like this. I have had such a fun night.”

And Bradshaw, who will hope to build on this performance at the World Championships in Doha next year and the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, admitted that claiming a podium place in front of her parents made the medal extra special.

She added: “It is the first time my mum and dad have come to an overseas competition and I am so glad I could do it in front of them. I think now they are going to have come to every single one otherwise it is going to be bad luck!

“It means so much to me and it means so much to me and I can’t wait for the rest of this season and for Doha next year and Tokyo.”

Greece filled the top two spots of the podium with favourite Ekaterini Stefanidi taking gold ahead of Nikoleta Kiriakopoulou.

Bradshaw’s fellow Blackburn Harrier Sophie Hitchon, begins her hammer campaign on Friday morning.

The Burnley ace, an Olympic bronze medalist in Rio in 2016, will bid to reach Sunday night’s final when qualification gets under way from 9am UK time.