Sophie McKinna confirmed her status as the British number one as she finished as the top Briton in seventh place in the shot put at the European Athletics Championships in Berlin.

Eastern Daily Press: Britain's Sophie Mckinna makes an attempt in the women's shot put final at the European Athletics Championships at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)Britain's Sophie Mckinna makes an attempt in the women's shot put final at the European Athletics Championships at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2018. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) (Image: Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The 23-year-old Great Yarmouth & District AC star produced a throw of 17.69m in the sixth round to take seventh spot ahead of team-mate Amelia Strickler, who finished 10th with a throw of 17.15m.

In her first senior competition representing her country, the former Lynn Grove High School pupil was delighted with her performance.

'I knew all my throws were pretty close to my PB – that was probably one of the most consistent series of throws that I've had,' she said. 'It puts me in a great position going forward and hopefully I will make more teams like this going forward.'

Poland's Paulina Guba took the gold medal with a throw of 19.33m ahead of home favourite Christina Schwanitz (19.19m). Belarus' Allona Dubitskaya was third with 18.81m.

Eastern Daily Press: Great Britain's Sophie McKinna competes in the Women's Shot Put Final during day two of the 2018 European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium, Berlin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday August 8, 2018. See PA story ATHLETICS European. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior permissionGreat Britain's Sophie McKinna competes in the Women's Shot Put Final during day two of the 2018 European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium, Berlin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday August 8, 2018. See PA story ATHLETICS European. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior permission (Image: PA Wire)

McKinna is determined to put in the hard work this winter in a bid to close the gap on her competitors.

'We will get straight back into winter training and I'll hopefully get the hard work in and catch some of these girls up,' she added.

Eastern Daily Press: Great Britain's Sophie McKinna reacts in the Women's Shot Put Final during day two of the 2018 European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium, Berlin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday August 8, 2018. See PA story ATHLETICS European. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior permissionGreat Britain's Sophie McKinna reacts in the Women's Shot Put Final during day two of the 2018 European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium, Berlin. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday August 8, 2018. See PA story ATHLETICS European. Photo credit should read: Martin Rickett/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only, no commercial use without prior permission (Image: PA Wire)