TALENTED Laura White came to the rescue of the North of England Under 23 team when withdrawals reduced the size of the squad for the six cornered Home International.

Making her debut at this level, originally she was chosen only for the high jump but was later called up for the long jump too. However, on her arrival at Derby she discovered that she was competing in four events. She hadn't even taken her starting blocks, but found herself racing the European Under 23 Champion in the sprint hurdles.

Because of her tight schedule, she had no time to prepare for the high jump, and her parents had to mark out her run up. Laura literally rose to the challenge, leaping 1.70 for third place. As she was taking her last attempt at 1.75, she was being called to the start for the sprint relay. Another third place followed and with it, words of appreciation from the team manager.

Laura enjoyed her hectic debut, her only slight disappointment being her distance of 5.25 in the long jump. That was still good for fourth place, but she showed her true form a day later when she broke her personal best with 5.68 in front of her home crowd at Pendle's Open Meeting.

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