MIRFIELD sprinter Emily Freeman has vowed to take her European Championship exploits with a pinch of salt and come back bigger, better and stronger next year.

The 29-year-old travelled to Barcelona having run the 200m just four times with an Achilles injury picked up in March forcing her to spend more time on the treatment table than the track.

The Wakefield Harrier looked good in the morning’s heats qualifying as the seventh fastest in a time of 23.44sec but suffered heartache in the semi-finals.

Freeman ran a season’s best 23.21sec to finish fifth in her semi-final and despite clocking the same time as the eighth and final qualifier Veronique Mang of France missed out on the final.

And Freeman – who finished seventh at last year’s World Championships in Berlin – insists her near-miss has only made her hungrier to readdress the balance.

“I am disappointed not to be running fast enough to make the final but I have had a tough year,” said Freeman.

“It was tough but missing out will just make me hungry for next year and the World Championships next year where I hope to be completely fully fit.

“I will have to have some rehab now but I will quickly turn my attentions onto being in the best shape possible for 2011 and then 2012 which is the main aim.

“I have learnt a lot from being here and in training throughout the year and I will use it to come back bigger and better.”

Freeman still has the 4x100m relay to look forward to before flying home from the Catalan capital.

And while undecided on whether she will travel to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games in October – Freeman is adamant she will lower her season best before the year is out.

“We weren’t initially heading for the Commonwealths and I think we will stick to the plan and get straight into some rehab,” she added.

“But every race I am improving, the other girls in the world are running a lot quicker than I am, but from what I have been through I am happy to have improved.

“To run twice in one day was tough but everything is holding up and I do have a smile on my face – I did run a season’s best after all.”

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