SOPHIE Hitchon will represent England at the Commonwealth Youth Games in India later this month.
The 17-year old hammer thrower, who is a student at Thomas Whitham Sixth Form in Burnley, is the only East Lancashire athlete in the party.
Her Blackburn Harrier teammate Alison Leonard is a year older and was unable to accept her invitation for the 800m after starting university.
Domestically, Sophie has carried all before her for the past two seasons, first at U17 level, then in the U20s.
She is currently the UK U20 record holder with 60.73m and, as there was no trial for the Games, she was chosen on the strength of her performances over the entire season.
The Commonwealth Youth Games will be at Pune in India between October 12 and 18.
There are nine disciplines with badminton, boxing, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, weightlifting, and wrestling supplementing the athletics.
It is the third time the Youth Games have been staged after Edinburgh in millennium year and Bendigo, Australia four years ago, and the organisers will be looking at it as a trial event before the Commonwealth Games itself comes to Delhi in 2010.
Sophie attended an information day last weekend hosted by UK Athletics in Birmingham, and will leave for India on Tuesday.
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