Sophie Hitchon's national record books place in women's hammer final

Great Britain's Sophie Hitchon has qualified for the final of the women's hammer throw at London 2012.

The 21-year-old didn't reach the automatic qualifying distance of 73m but did manage to beat her own British record with a throw of 71.98m, which ended up being the 10th-longest throw of the morning.

That put her through to Friday's final, which gets underway at around 7.30pm, as the top 12 make it through from qualification.

Poland's Anita Wlodarczyk was the only woman to clear the 75m mark with a launch of 75.68m, 1.15m further than her nearest competitor.