Pitsea athlete Lara Carty today (Friday) set off to compete for the Great Britain under-20 squad in a prestigious international meeting on the continent.

Lara, 16, will compete in a gruelling seven-event heptathlon at the international this weekend in Val de Reuil, northern France.

The Basildon AC athlete was called up after scoring 4,491 points to claim gold at the Amateur Athletics Association (AAA) under-20 championships at Northwood Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent.

And she is naturally delighted to be making her international debut in competition with athletes from host nation France, Switzerland and Germany.

"I'm really excited about it as the only other time I've competed at this level was for English Schools in 1998 and 1999," she said.

"It's a chance to gain some experience and perhaps improve my personal best because the conditions are supposedly better over there."

The win in the Potteries was the first time Lara had ever triumphed in the AAA championships - a feat made all the more remarkable as it was achieved in a higher age group than she normally competes.

But Lara, who expects to be the youngest competitor involved in the weekend event, brushed aside any thoughts that her inexperience may count against her.

She said: "It makes it more exciting to compete against the older athletes and it gives me some experience for when I move up to the under-20s next season.

"There's no real pressure on me and I'm just going to go out there, give it my best shot and see if I can beat my personal best.

"If it means I beat the other athletes then that's great, but it's just going to be a good experience."

(Right) Clear winner - Lara Carty gets in some hurdles practice at Gloucester Park

(Left) French connection - 16-year-old Lara Carty will represent Great Britain at an international athletics event in France

Pictures: ROBIN WOOSEY

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.