HANNAH England said the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team enjoyed a strong World Championships, despite a comparative lack of medals, writes STUART WEIR.

Oxford City star England, finished a very creditable fourth in the 1,500m final in Moscow, having taken silver two years before in Daegu.

Aside from Mo Farah, Christine Ohuruogu and Tiffany Porter, England was Britain’s highest individual finisher in a World Championships that could not match the highs of London 2012.

“Some people have criticised the GB team for not winning many medals, but if you compare ranking with performance, there have been a lot of great performances,” said England.

“If you look at my ranking coming into Moscow, fourth is an over achievement.

“Coming fourth in the world champs is a vindication of all the work I do with my coach.

“There are not many fields where you get a chance to assess yourself against everyone in the world who does the same job.

“It is nerve-racking and very public to do it in front of thousands, but to be compared with everyone else and to come out fourth in the world is very satisfying.”

A tearful England, 26, was unable to say much about her fourth place in the immediate aftermath of her race.

But, in the cold light of day, she was able to take a lot of positives from the experience.

“I was very emotional as I had put everything into it because it is the World Championships,” she said.

“And I was gutted to come fourth. At the start of the season I would not have taken fourth, but you also have to be realistic.

“The three who finished before me are all outstanding athletes. I beat the 2008 Olympic Champion and others who had run much faster times.

“The winner, Abeba Aregawi, has run seven seconds faster than me this year. Finishing fourth in the World Championships is bloody good.”

England was particularly pleased to have produced a good performance when it mattered most.

She said: “I went through a bad patch in June when I struggled at Gateshead (fifth in the European Team Championships) and Birmingham (seventh in the Sainsbury’s Grand Prix) so I am pleased that I managed to turn my season round.

“I am proud to have had my best race of the year in a championship final.”

England has not raced since Moscow, but said her next competitive outing is likely to be a 1,500m race on Sunday, September 1.