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Perri Shakes-Drayton wins double European gold

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Brunel University graduate Perri Shakes-Drayton won two gold medals at the European Indoor Athletics Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 3 March.

Shakes-Drayton, a hurdles specialist, took gold in the individual 400m in a personal best time of 50.85 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year, before anchoring the women's 4x400m relay team to gold in a championship record time of 3 minutes 27.56 seconds.

The 400m gold, her first major individual title, marks a breakthrough onto the world stage for the 2011 Sport Sciences graduate, whose 2012 Olympic campaign was hampered by a hamstring injury.

"A lot of people were tipping me for gold," she told BBC Sport. "I said I can't be too complacent - I just wanted to stay out of trouble. I just hope it will benefit me when it comes to the outdoors."
 
The success stands the London-based athlete in good stead for the 2013 outdoor season, which culminates in the World Athletics Championships to be held in Moscow in August.