Kate French could not hide her delight at winning her first major medal as she claimed silver at the Modern Pentathlon European Championships in Hungary.
French went into the final discipline, the laser run, in fifth but managed an impressive display to put herself in second place.
Just 10 points separated the athletes in second and ninth at the beginning of the final event, but French held off the challengers and picked up silver.
With a total of 1,357 points over the five disciplines, French was only nine points off gold medallist Marie Oteiza from France but revealed her joy at securing a European Championship medal in Székesfehérvár.
“I’m so happy,” said the 27-year-old, who won gold and silver in Modern Pentathlon World Cup events last year.
“I’ve wanted to win a major championships medal for a while, so I’m really pleased to have done that.
“Winning gold at the World Cup gave me a lot of confidence because I wasn’t sure where my form would be after the break over the winter. That made me realise I was still very close and was a big factor.
“I was a little bit oblivious to what was going on behind me. I knew I was in a medal position so just concentrated on my own processes as I didn’t know how close the chasing pack were.”
Next year’s European Modern Pentathlon Championships will take place at the University of Bath, where Pentathlon GB’s National Training Centre is based.
With a home advantage, French is already raring to follow up her silver with more success on the big stage.
“I can’t wait to compete at the Europeans at Bath next year," she added:
“I love competing on home soil and the facilities at the university are great.
“The Hungarians had incredible support this week so it will be great to have that for the British team next year and I hope I can back up this performance in front of them.” Pentathlon GB teammate Joanna Muir finished 17th for the second consecutive year at the European Championships, while fellow Brit Samantha Murray came 35th. There was male British representation at the Championships too, with Tom Toolis and Joe Choong making the men's final on Sunday after strong performances in qualifying. Sportsbeat 2018