WEST Devon's Beijing 2008 Olympic silver medallist Heather Fell leads the British challenge at the Modern Pentathlon World Championships, which take place in London next month.
Heather is a member of the six-strong Great Britain team for the championships that was announced last week at Crystal Palace, which hosts the World Championships from August 13 to 17. Two further men will be added to the team at a later date.
Last month Heather won the individual silver medal at the European Championships as well as the team gold with Katy Livingston and Mhairi Spence, who also feature in the team for Crystal Palace.
Jan Bartu, Pentathlon GB performance director, said: 'The World Championships are the pinnacle of the year, particularly for us as we will be at home.
'We exceeded our expectations at the European Championships. There will definitely be teams that are stronger than us, but that will inspire us.
'Being at home means a medal is expected of us. We are definitely contenders in both genders and the ladies' team will go to Crystal Palace as European Champions.'
The 2009 World Championships will be the first to feature the new combined run/shoot format, which replaced the individual pentathlon disciplines of shooting and running — a significant change to the sport — at the start of the year.
They will also be the first World Championships to be held in London in an Olympic sport in since 1986.
It is the sixth time Great Britain has hosted the Modern Pentathlon World Championships. The last occasion was at Millfield in Somerset in 2001, when Britain's women collected four medals. Steph Cook won the individual gold with Georgina Harland taking bronze. Tavistock's Kate Allenby was part of the team gold medal-winning foursome, with Cook, Allenby and Harland winning team relay gold.