Holly Bradshaw admitted she does not know how much more she can take after failing to reach the World Championship pole vault final following illness at Great Britain’s holding camp last week.

The 31-year-old from Chorley who crashed out of the event at last year’s worlds when her pole snapped in the warm up, failed at 4.50m before two unsuccessful attempts at 4.60m.

“My mental health is really suffering from doing this sport right now,” said Bradshaw who is a member of Blackburn Harriers.

“I am not near my family, I’ve still got four competitions but I wanted to try and get the Olympics qualification.

“I don’t really know how I feel right now. At the moment, I don’t want to compete or think about the pole vault or do anything.

“I’m really gutted and heartbroken. I felt really good coming into this. I had some good sessions out in Slovakia but I picked up some stomach bug on Thursday and was basically being sick the whole night.

“That’s quite unusual for me. I have not really been able to eat much since. I have not trained because I have been trying to conserve my energy and I felt awful.”

Bradshaw, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, failed with her first two jumps at 4.35m - well below her British record of 4.90m - before clearing that mark at her final attempt.

She then failed at 4.50m before two unsuccessful efforts at 4.60m.

“It wasn’t good, I’m devastated,” Bradshaw told the BBC immediately after failing to reach the final. “I don’t really know how many blows I can keep on taking.

“It seems like one thing after the other for me over the last two years.

“Right now I’m just really emotional and I don’t know how much more I can go on doing this because it’s not good for my mental health.”

Heading in to the championship, Bradshaw spoke of the importance of talking about any issues so others can understand what athletes deal with.

“Athletes being more open with what they’re going through, with what they’re struggling with, it just educates people,” she said.

“How are you guys (the media) meant to know what’s going on if we don’t tell you? So we tell you what’s going on and then there’s more knowledge around that situation. In the past athletes get frustrated but actually it’s on them to be open as well.

“I remember when I was a young athlete, I wanted to keep my injuries secret. I didn’t want anyone to think I’m weak.

“Now it’s like, ‘this is what’s going on in my life and this is what I’m navigating’.

“I’m just doing the best that I can and I’m kind of on this journey to try and achieve something. I’m going to tell you all about it and not be embarrassed or shameful of it.”