A North East school girl is hoping to sprint, shoot and swim her way to glory after being selected to represent the .jpg)
region in a major national sporting competition.
Emily Gauja, a pupil at Polam Hall independent day school in Darlington, has been competing in sports triathlons since she was eight years old.
And Emily, now aged 14, will next week have the chance to take on the best in the country at the special form of triathlon which includes swimming, shooting and running.
The Year 10 student is one of just a handful of teenagers chosen to represent northern England at the National Winter Championships in Milton Keynes.
The event will see Emily and her rivals shoot air pistols at targets seven metres away, swim as far as they can in three minutes before racing over 1500 metres.
Emily said: “I’m really happy to have been selected and for the chance to represent northern England against people from all over the country.
“This is a big final to be involved in, and I’m just going to try to be selected again for the team to take part in the end of season event in Milton Keynes in June where they have the additional sport of horse-riding.
“Polam Hall has helped me greatly, allowing me to use the grounds to train as part of my school day and the teachers have always been really supportive of me.”
As well as competing, Emily is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her sister Charlotte – a sixth form student at Polam Hall who has just completed her level 1 coaching award that was funded by the British Triathlon Organisation.
Craig Wilkinson, head of PE at the school, said: “We’re all really proud of Emily. She’s a really motivated girl and very determined and competitive.
“She is a great role model for the younger girls at school, encouraging them to take part in many school sporting events like cross country and swimming.”
Emily is currently studying PE as one of her GCSE subjects, also taking part in Polam Hall’s afterschool triathlon club, which has become increasingly popular at the school following the Olympics last summer.
For more information on Polam Hall school visit: www.polamhall.com