CHARLOTTE HENRICH survived a pre-race scare to book her place in the Commonwealth final.
The Invicta East Kent 400m star, 19, finished second in her semi-final to safely advance to Saturday’s showpiece in Glasgow.
Henrich, representing Team Wales here, crossed the line in a time of 52.13s as Nigerian Ella Onojuvwevwo won the race at a windy Scotstoun.
The inexperienced one-lap-wonder is duelling it out against an elite-level field here in what marks her maiden taste of major competition.
And after fearing the worst in the warm-up, she was over the moon to hold it together and battle over the line.
“Wow – it’s unbelievable,” she said. “I definitely had expectations of myself to make the final – I felt okay, but got a bit stressed during the warm-up as I saw everyone and thought: ‘they look so fast’.
“Everyone was sprinting past me in the warm-up and I thought ‘oh no’, but I stuck to my race plan and hopefully there’s more to come. I’m excited for Saturday, the girls are incredible to race against and to be in the mix with all of them, I can’t put it into words.
“The top two is great - hopefully I’ll get carried in the final and see what happens. I’ll probably be less stressed – I’ve got less expectation on myself, and my aim was to make the final."
Henrich is one of the many Team Wales stars here in Glasgow, all of whom benefit from crucial National Lottery funding.
She was originally born in France, before moving to Kent at the age of five – but is here representing Team Wales.
Henrich is new to the rest of the team but is relishing the chance to get to know them in a multi-sport environment.
“It’s been so good,” she added. “Everyone in Wales is so fun – they’ve got a certain energy about them.
“It reminds me of being with my family, lots of whom are here – it’s nice to sit at the table for dinner and get to know everyone
“I’m loving everyone, which is great.”
Thanks to National Lottery players, more than £33m is raised every week for good causes. It’s because of you that sport, arts, heritage and community projects, as well as our athletes competing at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, are supported across the UK.
