IT is a sign of how far Gemma Kersey has come in the past year that she admitted to being slightly disappointed with her run at the Loughborough International.

The 20-year-old ran a personal best time of 4m 18.37s, knocking two seconds off her previous best and pushing herself up to number three in the country’s under-23 rankings in the process.

And when you consider at the same event last year, Kersey ran 4m 29.71s, you get some idea of the rapid progression the Basildon AC athlete has made.

“Sometimes I forget that,” Kersey said. “I have come a long way. I was happy to run 4m 18s and happy with how the race went.

“But I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t hold my form for the last 100m. I was in third coming into the home straight and dropped back to fifth.

“I had been strong for the whole race up until then. I got into the right position at the bell, it was just the last 100m.

“But hopefully, once I’ve done a few more races, I will get used to the lactic in my legs in the closing stages.”

And Kersey’s next race over three and three-quarter laps comes along pretty swiftly.

Tomorrow night she lines up in the Flanders International meeting in Belgium – and she is aiming big.

“I haven’t really talked to Eamonn (Martin, Kersey’s coach) about tactics yet, but the meet record is 4m 18s and it would be nice to get that,” she said.

“But really I just want to focus on the race and not the time.

“I’m confident that at some point this season I can run close to 4m 15s. I felt really good for the whole race last weekend, it was just the last 100m. A few more races and I think I can really push on.

“In many ways it feels like I’m starting again this season. I’ve come up from the juniors into the seniors. I know I’m not going to be one of the top seniors. I’ve just got to keep working hard and working my way through.”