JADE O’Dowda reflected on a solid start as she achieved a personal best on day one of the heptathlon at the European Championships.

The 22-year-old, from Kidlington, is 11th in the standings after four events in Munich, with 3,627 points.

The high jump was the highlight, as O’Dowda reached the 1.80m mark to smash her personal best and briefly sit fourth overall.

It came after she was eighth in the 100m hurdles, clocking 13.72 seconds, before she threw 12.98m in the shot put and ran the 200m in 24.80secs.

The former Oxford City AC youngster claimed Commonwealth Games bronze in Birmingham only a fortnight ago and she was delighted with another good performance on the big stage.

“Overall I am really happy,” she said.

“My hurdles was solid and I’m super happy with the high jump – it was really good and I’m so glad to have finally done 1.80m.

“I was a bit disappointed with the shot, it just didn’t feel right and my final throw was okay.

“The 200m was good - I’m faster than I was in Birmingham, which was nice.

“Three more to go, and having done a heptathlon two weeks ago I wasn’t sure how it was going to be, but I feel okay.”

The final three events are the long jump, javelin and 800m.