POLLY Maton repeated her T47 100m result at last year’s Paralympics in the final of the World Para Athletics Championships in London on Tuesday evening The 17-year-old, from Urchfont, again missed out on a medal but came away with a season’s best time in the first of her two events at the championships this week.

The Team Bath-trained competitor, who is coached by Colin Baross, took a tenth of a second off her best time of the campaign by clocking 13.04 seconds en route to finishing fifth as the USA’s Deja Young sprinted away with the gold medal in a time of 12.39.

Poland’s Alicja Fiodorow narrowly claimed silver in 12.61, with China’s Lu Li edged into bronze, just one-hundredth of a second behind in 12.62.

Maton’s result represented an improvement on her debut showing in the championships two years ago in Doha, when a hamstring issue saw her finish eighth.

While the teenager was happy with her result, she was slightly disappointed with the time she recorded.

“It was an absolutely incredible experience. I said the same thing at the time I supported at the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, so to compete on that track is a dream come true,” said Maton.

“I would have hoped for a slightly quicker time and perhaps go up to fourth, but a medal was always a long shot.

“I’m just happy to have been able to go out and compete.

“I’ve gone sub-13 previously so I would have been hoping for that sort of time, but I’ve had some problems with my calf over the last couple of days so just to be out here running is so exciting.”

Comparing the championships to the one she experienced in Doha two years ago, the teenager says the level of support has been far greater than what she witnessed in Qatar in 2015.

Maton believes the competition and running in front of a home crowd will help her as she continues to build experience towards the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.

“It is the first time I have raced in front of a home crowd and probably only the second time I have really raced in front of a crowd at all,” she added.

“So to have that experience was slightly overwhelming, but it was amazing to have your name called and hear such a big cheer.

“I was obviously too young to compete at London 2012, so to have that was incredible.

“It was a really good learning experience.

“The amount of support British Athletics have given me over the last few years in these competitions means in the future when I am able to win medals, I’ll be in the best position to do so.

“This has a different feel to Doha, it almost feels like you are going into a second Paralympics.”

The Dauntsey’s School student will also compete in the T47 long jump in London, the final of which takes place on Sunday, the final day of the championships.