Croydon based Joice Maduaka was left bemoaning what might have been after narrowly missing out on a medal at the World Championships in Osaka, writes Richard Warburton.

The Norwich Union British team of Laura Turner (Harrow), Montell Douglas (Blackheath & Bromley), Emily Freeman (Wakefield) and Joice Maduaka (Woodford Green with Essex Ladies) produced a storming run, featuring slick changeovers and all-out determination, to finish fourth in 42.87.

Gold went to the USA, with Jamaica and Belgium taking silver and bronze respectively.

After the race the foursome spoke of their disappointment at missing out on a medal.

Maduaka said: "It is just dawning on me how close we were. It is so disappointing.

"After the heat this morning we went back thinking we wouldn't be in lane one , but we were in lane two (lane one was empty).

"If we had had another lane who knows what we could have done.

"We have an excellent relay programme and our performances have proved how well it works. "

Turner added: "We put everything into it and gave it our all. We now know what we can do and there's no doubt we will be back next year."

Freeman said: "We were so close. We each did our utmost. It's really disappointing."

Douglas added: "I was looking up at the screen and screaming at Joice, even though she couldn't hear me.

"We all said we wanted to give each other the chance and that's what we did. We were so close but so far."