Jo Pavey aims to regain European Championship title in 2018

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Jo PaveyImage source, Getty Images
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Jo Pavey had a quick enough time to be selected for August's World Championships, but asked not to be considered because of injury

Jo Pavey is aiming to regain her 10,000m title at the European Championships in Germany in 2018 - a month before her 45th birthday.

Pavey became the oldest woman to claim European gold when she won the 10,000m in Zurich in 2014, aged 40.

The British five-time Olympian missed the World Championships with a heel injury, but has no plans to retire.

"Next year I'll be mostly focusing on trying to qualify for the Europeans - that's the goal," Pavey said.

The 43-year-old has ruled out competing at the Commonwealth Games in Australia in March, but is keen to continue for at least one more season on the track.

"With the Commonwealths being in March, and having a family and all the different phases of my life I'm at now, I just think it's the Europeans that I'm most interested in," Pavey told BBC Radio Devon.

"It was frustrating getting injured early in the season because I was quite pleased with the way the track sessions were starting to unfold.

"I actually felt younger this year than I did maybe in the last year or two, so I was looking forward to trying to put some good track performances in.

"I suppose I have to retire one day, but I'll never completely retire - I'll always keep running."

The Devon mother of two received her 2007 World Championship bronze medal at the London Stadium during this year's event, after Turkey's Elvan Abeylegesse was retrospectively disqualified for an in-competition doping offence.

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