16 Aug 2009

Smith disappointed with eight place at 10,000m world champs

6:02 pm on 16 August 2009

New Zealand's Kimberley Smith's finished a disappointing eighth in the 10,000m at the World Athletic Champs in Berlin.

It's one better than her ninth in the 10,000m at the Beijing Olympics but Smith has described her performance as "pretty average"

She says the pace of the race changed throughout and feels a faster pace from the outset would have suited her better.

She posted a time of 31m 21.42 seconds, nearly a minute outside her personal best and 30 seconds behind the winner Linet Chepkwemoi Masai of Kenya.

Smith says she's aiming to compete in the 5000m at the Commonwealth Games in India next year but will now return to her United States base to organise her calendar for the next year.