Last's year's Amateur Athletics' Association (AAA) senior women's indoor pentathlon gold medallist, Katia, 21, who is studying Sport Sciences at Brunel University, in Uxbridge, Middx, has won this year's England Athletics Indoor Pentathlon Championships, North of England, and Welsh Indoor Pentathlon Championships, held in Sheffield.
The indoor pentathlon consists of 60m hurdles, high jump, shot putt, long jump and 800m middle distance running.
“I can't believe I won it. Although I won last year, I thought I might get 5th place this time, but I excelled myself,“ she said.
Katia added that the medals will kept at home, in Walmer Street, Abbey Hey, Manchester. “I've given them to my mum to take care of. I'm not taking them to uni, in case I lose them.“
Katia is one of Brunel's sports scholars which entails having some financial support from the university scholarship programme for training and competition.
“I have been selected to compete with the Great Britain Seniors in Zaragoza, Spain, in two weeks, and again with the other Under-23's in London, at the end of February. The money so far, has bought new spikes, trainers and a sports massage three days before the competition,“ she added.
Katia's tutor and Life president of the Brunel Athletics Club, Professor Costas Karageorghis, said: “We are very proud to have Katia on our athlete-scholar programme as she will certainly be an athlete to look out for come London 2012 when she will hopefully be at her physical peak and ready to take on the world.“
ends