2004 OLYMPIC bronze medallist Georgina Harland missed the opportunity to compete in Beijing in the modern pentathlon through injury — but is backing Tavistock's Heather Fell to achieve on the greatest stage of all.

Georgina has been acting as mentor to the quartet of Heather, Katy Livingstone, Sam Weale and Nick Woodbridge and believes the Olympics will be a great learning experience for them.

'I hope the athletes can achieve success in Beijing – but if it doesn't go their way they will take massive experience onto London 2012 and it's definitely a bright future for them,' said Georgina, who trains with Heather at the University of Bath.

'It's great to be able to give advice about competing at a Games, the build up and what they might experience and I hope it's useful to them. There are five events in the pentathlon so a lot of focus is required. But it is the Olympics and they have to give it their all.'

Heather, who lives at Merrivale, has established herself as one of Britain's top modern pentathletes. She burst on the international scene in 2003 by winning the World Junior Championships in Athens, but then suffered a series of shin injuries that seriously restricted her ability to train.

She had a terrific season in 2007, winning her first medal on the World Cup circuit with bronze in Moscow and followed with silver in the 2007 European Championships in Latvia to achieve the qualifying standard for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Georgina said: 'Heather has a great chance in Beijing. She's ranked fourth in the world and has been consistent all year and is a real strength across a number of disciplines. She just has to get her fencing right and, if so, I think she will do something special.

'It's the first Olympics for Heather and Katy Livingstone but they both have a lot of confidence, massive amounts of determination and have medal chances.'

Georgina, who is sponsored by Atos Origin, IT partner to the Olympic Games, believes Team GB have set a great standard for the modern pentathletes to follow:

'I've been glued to the television. We set the standard early on with Nicole Cooke winning the cycling road race and Rebecca Adlington winning the women's 400m freestyle.

'British sport has made a massive step forward thanks to National Lottery funding and it's a really exciting time as all the athletes are starting to realise their potential and are returning with medals.'

The 30-year-old is currently undergoing rehabilitation to a leg injury sustained during the World Championships and admits to feeling frustrated she can't be in Beijing herself:

'Obviously, I love the British success but it's slightly strange to be sitting back here. I'd love to be part of it but unfortunately it wasn't meant to be.

'My body is trying to get better – it's a slow process and at the moment I'm focussing on rehab to ensure I'm giving myself every chance of competing in London 2012. It would be fantastic to come back and be able to compete at the highest level, but I have to take it one step at a time before I think about what I'll be doing in four years.'

When Georgina does retire, she will be able to reflect on a fantastic career which memorably saw her improve from 14th position in the final 3,000m run to achieve bronze in the 2004 Olympics.

'Winning an Olympic medal and standing on the podium in 2004 was a dream come true and I wish Heather the best of luck in Beijing,' she said.