IT'S just as well that Emma Davies has a naturally cheerful disposition because luck has not been on her side in the build-up to next week's AAA/Olympic Trials in Birmingham.

Bizarre circumstances have forced Andover AC's 21-year-old Commonwealth Games 800 metres semi-finalist out of two vital races just as she was looking to build on last month's season's best 2.04.44 run in Riga which placed her eighth in the UK rankings.

Chapter one of the tale of disaster came at the IAAF Permit Meeting in Budapest where the Welsh International pulled up at the 550m mark with an ankle injury caused by, of all things, a pre-race massage.

Davies explained: "The physio was working on some trigger points on the shin which was supposed to release tension, but it had the reverse effect. A tendon in my ankle went into spasm and became tight and swollen and it cramped up so badly during the race that I had to pull up."

The problem was sorted within a couple of days and Davies travelled to the Dublin Games in Ireland last weekend determined to make up for lost time.

But little did she suspect how fate would again conspire against her.

Ludicrously for an international event, there were 17 runners crammed into the field and Davies paid the penalty amid the overcrowding when she was caught from behind and lost her spike in the first 60m.

She got an apology from the officials but that was scant consolation after watching on helplessly as another key race slipped away from her.

"They were two really important races for me and being forced to drop out feels even worse than running badly," she said. "Mind you, it could have been worse in Dublin. When I looked at my spike there were two deep scratches in the leather which could easily have been my Achilles!"

In a rare piece of good fortune, Davies has managed to swing a guest slot in an international meeting in Sweden on tomorrow - her last chance to shine before the AAAs.

Team Solent sprinter Melanie Purkiss had better luck running for England in Dublin, finishing fifth in the 100m (11.86 seconds) and trailing Shaftesbury's Catherine Murphy by a mere one hundredth of a second in her specialist 200m event (23.94).

Breaking the 24-second barrier for the second successive week was no mean feat - particularly running into a minus wind.

"I need to do some more work on getting the first part of the bend right, but I was coming back really strongly towards the end," she smiled.

Team Solent's Jon Goodwin took 400m hurdles bronze (55.24) at the Railtrack Scottish National Championships in Glasgow.

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