MERRIVALE'S rising young modern pentathlete Heather Fell is this week celebrating international success after she scooped not one, but two gold medals at the junior world championships in Athens last week.

Heather, who is 20, won the team and individual medals at the championships, which saw 53 competitors from 32 countries battling for the top honours.

Heather's mother, Doreen, said her daughter was 'over the moon' at her success.

'She was 20 seconds down before the run, which was the last event to take place,' said Doreen.

'They do this Hungarian start which means she has to wait to start. She had all this time to make up and she couldn't believe she was in the lead in the last lap — it was a long way to come back.'

Heather's brilliant run meant she beat Amelie Caze of France into the silver medal position — Heather's team-mate Lindsey Weedon took the bronze medal

Heather made one of only four clear rounds in the showjumping section of the championships taking her riding score to an impressive 1,200 points.

She scored personal best points for the fencing and her run, coming third in the swimming event.

Doreen said Heather's success was made all the more remarkable by the fact she is not even in full time training, unlike all the other athletes at the championships.

'She's at university, training to be a

physiotherapist — she didn't know she was going until the last minute,' said Doreen.

'She's been running around Great Mis Tor and Cox Tor when she's down here, so Dartmoor has helped, and she shoots at home and swims with Robin Brew at Kelly, but she's not been able to train full time because of university, so she's done incredibly well,' said Doreen.

'She's just ecstatic about it, so excited.'

Heather, who is in her last year at Brunel University, has just one year left at junior level in the modern pentathlon.

Doreen said her daughter's greatest ambition was to represent Great Britain as a senior athlete at the 2008 Olympic Games.