A WEST Devon athlete is this week celebrating success after winning the silver medal at the European championships in Latvia ? and now has a good chance of competing at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Modern pentathlete Heather Fell, 24, was among a world class field of 36, fighting for a top eight finish to secure the Olympic qualification standard, during the championship finals held in Latvia on Sunday. And just to top her fantastic achievement, she was one of the British trio to snatch gold medals in the women?s team relay event on Monday, beating the Russian squad into second place. Heather, from Merrivale, near Tavistock, was the 2003 World Junior Champion and has fought back from two years of injuries to attain championship fitness. The former Kelly College student said it felt ?amazing? to be on the podium with a silver medal in the individual event. ?It hasn?t really sunk in yet. At the beginning of the season I didn?t expect to make the Europeans, so I was ecstatic just to be selected to compete here,? said Heather. ?I didn?t come here expecting to get a medal. I was flattered just to be here, and getting into the final was a big achievement for me.? Heather took a big step forward in the competition when she took 0.2 seconds off her six-year-old personal best in the third discipline, the 200-metre swim. She said: ?I really don?t know where that came from!? Heather was fifth going into the final discipline, the three-kilometre run. She said: ?Going into the run I knew I could get a top eight finish, but I wanted a medal so much!? Heather crossed the line second, just behind Russia?s Evdokia Gretchichnikova, finishing with 5,492 points and the silver medal. Heather was joined in the top eight by fellow British competitor Katy Livingston, who came sixth. Jan Bartu, the GB performance director, said: ?It was one of the toughest competitions in the history of women?s pentathlon. There were 36 top athletes here, all looking for a place in the top eight. ?Our girls came up with the goods ? they really were competitive, they fought very well. ?It?s very encouraging because two of them now have the qualification standard for Beijing. Having two British athletes qualified for the games already gives us a boost for the future. It?s great for the coaching and management team.? Hopes are now high that Heather can emulate the success of Tavistock modern pentathlete Kate Allenby, who won a bronze medal at the Sydney Olympics seven years ago. Kate, who has known Heather since she was a child, said: ?This is a huge step forward for her. She?s had a lot of problems with injury over the last couple of years, which I know frustrated her for a long time, but it just shows what commitment and dedication she has to come back like this. ?You feel very alone and isolated when you are injured so it?s brilliant she?s come back after two years to perform so well.? Heather?s mother, Doreen, said her daughter was ?absolutely thrilled? at her success in Latvia. ?She?s had so many problems with injuries but she?s worked so hard. She?s up at 5 o?clock every morning to swim, she runs and shoots every day, rides most day ? I take my hat off to her!? she said.
