SPORTING twins from South Zeal have been selected to represent Great Britain at the Modern Pentathlon European Championships being held in Portugal later this month.
Following successful national trials, Laura and Sarah Gomersall, who are currently ranked one and two at Youth A (under-18) level, have been selected to compete against Europe?s best young pentathletes.
The girls, who are no strangers to international competition, are hoping to improve on their performances achieved in the World Championships in Mexico last year.
The GB team just missed out on bronze, coming fourth by 50 points. Both girls are looking for a top ten position, having finished 13th and 18th respectively in the world.
The European Championships will combine the four disciplines of fencing, shooting, running and swimming ? the traditional fifth discipline of riding is not included in the European competition.
Laura has also been selected for the Junior Women?s (under 21) GB team for an international competition in Germany at Easter, the weekend before the Europeans.
At the recent South West Fencing Championships in Wellington, Sarah became senior women?s epee champion, having beaten her sister Laura on the way in the semi-final.
The twins are also taking part in an international competition at Millfield tomorrow (Friday), where they will be competing against senior athletes, which Sarah said would be a ?good experience? for them ahead of the European finals.
Both Sarah and Laura are maintaining their training schedule as well as balancing their studies, as they hope to gain the grades to get into Bath University.
Sarah said: ?We are trying to revise for our A-levels this summer, but there is always a lot of travelling involved in competing and training.?
Sarah said a major aim for this season would again be to secure selection for the World Championships later this year, which are being held in Bulgaria.
The sisters agree that competing against one another is a bonus rather than the cause of any sibling rivalry. ?I think competing against each other seems to help us keep going and perform better,? said Sarah.