Domestic Championships Record
1995 – 1st AAA U20 heptathlon
1997 – 3rd AAA Indoor Championships long jump
1998 – 2nd AAA Indoor Championships 400m
2001 – 1st AAA Indoor Championships pentathlon
2002 – 1st AAA Indoor Championships pentathlon and long jump, 3rd Commonwealth Games Trials
long jump
2003 – 1st AAA Indoor Championships pentathlon, 2nd 400m, 3rd long jump,
2nd AAA Championships long jump
2004 – 2nd AAA Championships long jump
2005 – 2nd AAA Indoor Championships long jump, 1st AAA Championships long jump
2006 – 1st AAA Indoor Championships long jump, 1st AAA Championships long jump
2007 – 1st Norwich Union World Trials long jump, 2nd high jump
2008 – 3rd Norwich Union World Indoor Champs Trials high jump, 1st long jump, 2nd Olympic Trials
long jump, 3rd high jump
2009 – Aviva World Championships Trials HJ bronze, LJ 5th, SP 8th, Aviva European Indoor Championships Trials SP silver, 60mh silver, HJ 6th
2011 – 1st Aviva European Indoor Trials & UK Championships 400

Major Championships Record
Olympic Games – 2004 3rd heptathlon, 2008 4th heptathlon (5th 4x400m)
World Championships – 2005 5th heptathlon (8th long jump), 2007 3rd heptathlon
European Championships – 2006 7th heptathlon (15q long jump)
Commonwealth Games – 2002 7th heptathlon, 2006 1st heptathlon

Other noteworthy performances
2005 – 2nd European Indoor Championships pentathlon
2007 – 2nd European Indoor Championships pentathlon, 2nd European Cup Super League heptathlon
2008 – 2nd World Indoor Championships pentathlon
2011 – 2nd European Indoor Championships 4x400m

Sotherton won two English Schools championships in the heptathlon and also represented Hampshire at netball. She made her breakthrough on the international stage in 2004, when she improved her PB from 6059 to 6406 points in Gotzis to place second, which was followed by a runner-up finish at the European Cup in the long jump. Considered an outside medal hopeful in Athens, Sotherton lived up to the billing, claiming the bronze medal and finished only 11-points behind the silver medallist Austra Skujyte.

After winning silver at the 2005 European Indoor Championships in Madrid, Sotherton set her existing lifetime of 6547 points in Gotzis in May, but a poor javelin left her without a medal at the World Championships, where she placed fifth, but responded with an unexpected eighth in the long jump final.

Sotherton finally won her first title at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, where she amassed a total of 6396 points. This was followed by a disappointing result at the European Championships, when a back injury affected her progress. Sotherton was seventh, which was her worst performance at a major championships.

Kelly had a gripping battle with Sweden's Carolina Kluft at the 2007 European Indoor Championships in Birmingham, but the Birchfield Harrier narrowly succumbed to Kluft in the final event. However, Kelly set a national pentathlon record of 4927 points.

Sotherton came good at the 2007 World Championships after an injury affected season with a surprising bronze medal. She followed that performance with another medal at the World Indoor Championships, as she claimed the silver medal behind Belgium’s Tia Hellebaut and looked in good shape to win a medal in Beijing, having improved her javelin and setting PBs at the shot put and long jump, but Sotherton did not perform up to her normal standards in the long jump or shot put and finished fourth.

After a promising start to 2009 injury prevented her from going to the World Championships in Berlin and with 2010 also being an injury ravaged season she decided to 'retire' from heptathlon and revert to the 400m where she will be vying for a relay spot and also trying to upset the more established one lap specialists.