ATHLETICS: Catherine Riley's stunning run in the AAA's indoor championships has earned a place in the national side competing in Paris this weekend.

The Park High School pupil's win in Birmingham made her the national 800 metres champion in the under 20 age group - and she is only 16!

Going into the last 200m lap of the final, she was only in third place, not the ideal place to be on a tight indoor track.

But down the back straight Riley went past Rebecca Lynne, but was still behind defending champion Joanna Ross, the Scottish champion.

As Ross kicked for home, Riley went round her on the outside of the final bend.

She easily set a new personal best time of 2:10.18 and was selected for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Under 20 team to compete in Paris this Saturday. The opposition will be provided by France, Germany and Italy.

And her delight was doubled when she received a phone call from the Great Britain team manager Brian Hall inviting her to join a team of athletes for warm weather training in Florida at Easter. The team will be based at Disney World.

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