Johnson close to medal

7:15pm Tuesday 24th July 2007

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WORCESTER doctor Rose Johnson has just failed in her attempt to bring home a medal from the Women's World Championships in the Loire Valley, France Johnson went into the final race in fourth place overall and with a genuine chance of catching the two German pilots occupying the silver and bronze medal positions.

But things did not go well for the Worcestershire Royal Hospital consultant as she was forced to land and take another launch after failing to climb up under the upper cloud.

This meant she started the time trial race behind most of the rest of the field and missed out on the best soaring conditions of the day as a result.

The Germans suffered in a similar way and, at the end of the day, Johnson finished where she had started - tantalisingly close to a world championship medal.

Her disappointment at not winning a medal was, however, more than tempered by the success of two other members of the British team.

The poor result from the Germans meant Johnson's team-mate in the club class, Gill Spreckley, won.

And Sarah Kelman romped home in the standard class, a contest she had dominated throughout.