TAVISTOCK girl Heather Fell was the best placed British finisher in the modern pentathlon junior world championships, which recently took place in Sydney.
Heather, from Merrivale, Tavistock, finished eighth overall in a field of 32 in the individual standings, and won a
silver medal as part of the three-woman Great Britain team.
Modern pentathlon combines the disciplines of swimming, riding, running, fencing and shooting.
Heather?s results broke down as follows: shooting ? sixteenth; fencing ? equal eleventh and a personal best score; swimming ? eighth; riding ? equal first following a clean round and running ? sixth.
?It was exciting. I wasn?t expecting to do as well as I did. I was just hoping to do my best and I hadn?t really thought about a placing,? Heather said.
Heather said she had been drawn as the first horse rider out, which made her nervous, but she had a good horse and the round went perfectly. She was also very pleased with her performance in the fencing, where she achieved a personal best.
The individual scores were added up for the team competition, and with all three British team members finishing in the top 15, they were awarded the silver medal. Heather added she was pleased to get a medal for herself, and for the two other girls on the team, Sarah and Jo, who are moving up to senior level next year.
Heather said it had been a great experience competing in Australia, with the best junior pentathletes from across the world, although she was disappointed she only spent ten days Down Under before returning to Brunel University, to resume her studies in physiotherapy, while her teammates were able to stay a week longer.
The British team also narrowly missed out on another medal in the relay event where they came fourth.
Heather is keen to follow in the steps of a famous Tavistock modern pentathlete ? Olympic bronze medallist Kate Allenby, who has helped the 19-year-old with her training at the national Pentathlon Centre in Bath.
Heather is currently ranked fifth in the UK, the highest of any junior modern pentathlete. Heather will continue to be eligible to complete at junior level for another two years.