Athletics: Morgan rewarded for courage and commitment

Britain's representative in women's javelin at this weekend's European Cup focused on ambition of securing world No 1 ranking

You get an idea of what kind of girl Kelly Morgan is when you ask her about the Army basic training she recently completed. "I thoroughly enjoyed it," said the 22-year-old whose performance last Saturday at the Commonwealth trials has earned her a breakthrough appearance as Britain's javelin representative in this weekend's European Cup in Anneçy, France.

But surely, Kelly, Army training is supposed to be tough and demoralising? Surely, as the name suggests, it is supposed to break you down to basic components? She laughs. "I suppose so," she said. "But all the activities we covered and the atmosphere within the platoon were excellent."

Like another Kelly who used to be in the Army, the Olympic 800 metres bronze medallist Kelly Holmes, Morgan is a tough cookie. And like Kelly Mk 1, she has charted a career path which leads right to the top. Within the Forces, she too has joined as a clerk with a view to becoming a Physical Training Instructor. And within athletics, her ambition is similarly focused.

Having produced a British record of 63.03m in Manchester, which puts her fourth in this season's world rankings, she could have been forgiven for expressing a sense of achievement. But her reaction speaks of a more demanding mindset.

"There was a sense of relief on Saturday because I have known for so long that I could produce that kind of throw," she said. "But while I'm really happy to have done it, I'm by no means satisfied because there is so much more to come until I'm No 1 in the world."

When asked to cite her inspiration, you might expect Morgan to have mentioned the only two Britons who have thrown the javelin further than her – the former Olympic champion Tessa Sanderson and the former world champion Fatima Whitbread, both of whom managed over 70 metres with the old-style javelin that was superseded in 1999 by a rebalanced design that does not fly so far.

But she names the larger-than-life US basketball player Dennis Rodman, which hints at a flamboyant side to her nature. "I follow basketball and he's a brilliant character," she said.

There are other more graphic hints about her person – her left shoulder bears a Dean Macey-like tattoo of Celtic design, while her ankle is inscribed with another meaning "courage".

Although her senior international javelin career is only just beginning, Morgan has already amply demonstrated her commitment to that goal. Two years ago she left her job as a PTI in the Royal Air Force to concentrate on training full-time, a decision prompted by her failure to qualify for the Sydney Olympics by the tantalising margin of a metre and a half.

The next year was more of a struggle than she had foreseen in athletics terms, as she was affected by a shoulder injury picked up in February. However, this natural athlete found herself making dramatic progress as a netball player, making the England development squad – the England Under-21s in footballing parlance – and showing sufficient promise as a goal shooter to be offered a summer tour to Australia, home of the world champions. She turned it down because it clashed with the trials for the World Athletics Championships.

"It was a really hard decision to make," she recalled. "But I felt I owed it to UK Athletics as they were helping to fund me, even though I knew my injury made it unlikely that I would qualify."

Her foreboding proved correct. But this year, having returned to the comforting framework of life in the Forces, her dedication has been rewarded as she has begun to work under the guidance of John Trower, the man who has coached the likes of Steve Backley, Mick Hill and David Parker to international success.

"I knew John from when he used to coach the British junior squad, and he's a fantastic bloke," she said. "The adjustments he has made have been brilliant. I've always had a strong upper body, but John has been working on getting my legs in the right position when I throw. Technically, I am not up to Backley-type level, but I know there is so much more there."

This weekend, however, Morgan – who is now based in Salisbury – is concentrating both literally and figuratively on keeping her feet on the ground.

"I'm feeling very excited," she said. "The amount of attention I've got from last weekend's throw from the media – and the Army recruitment people – has been fantastic, although it all seems to have happened for me so suddenly. I will be rubbing shoulders with senior international team-mates for the first time in Annecy and it will obviously be a tougher level of competition for me. But I would like to produce another throw like last Saturday's."

If she can manage that, it would do both her and Britain proud.