MIDDLESBROUGH’S Jade Jones admits the 400m final at the IPC World Athletics Championships will be a case of girls against women – and insists she will be happy with anything but last.

The 15-year-old set up one last outing on the track in Christchurch this morning after making it out of the T54 400m heats as the first fastest loser and sixth quickest overall.

Jones clocked a time of 1:00.80minutes as the USA’s Tatyana McFadden qualified as the first fastest in 55:32seconds well ahead of North American Diane Roy of Canada.

At 15, Jones is nearly seven years younger than McFadden and 25 Roy’s junior and with that in mind she is turning her attentions to finishing anywhere but eighth in the 400m final.

“It is hard against the girls because some of them are quite a lot quicker than me and quite a lot older than me as well,” she said.

“But I made the final, I am not sure what the aims will be yet but we will work on them, hopefully one of them will be not to come last.

“The 400m heats were good but the headwind on the track was pretty strong, the strongest of the week definitely, so I had to work hard at it.

“This was the fourth time I have been on the track, the 800m was a heat and final, the 200m was a straight final and now the 400m heats and final, so that will be five.”

Her record at the Queen Elizabeth II Park four times shows finishes of eighth in the 800m final and an impressive fifth in the 200m equivalent.

The Aviva GB&NI wheelchair racer didn’t even think she would make one on her World Championship debut and admitted she couldn’t be happier with her efforts.

“Things have been going pretty well and I am not just turning up and racing.

“It is great to be getting to finals because I didn’t expect to when I first came out,” she added.

“I certainly didn’t expect to be in the 800m final at all, but I made it and I thought I would do the 400m and see what happened. I am pleased to have made the final.”

AVIVA has been supporting British athletes since 1999. To find out more about Aviva’s athletics sponsorship, go to aviva.co.uk/athletics