SOPHIE Hitchon struck gold at the IAAF World Junior Athletics Cham-pionships in Canada after winning the hammer in dramatic fashion.

The Blackburn Harrier sealed victory with her last throw of the competition to become Great Britain’s first ever world hammer champ-ion.

And there was more joy for East Lancashire as fellow Harrier, Holly Bleasdale, won an bronze medal in the pole vault.

Hitchon, 19, from Burnley, threw a national junior record of 66.01 metres in her sixth and final throw to beat Slovenia’s Barbara Spiler to the gold medal.

“I’m exhausted but so excited,” said Hitchon who was ranked fourth in the world going in to the competition. “It’s so amaz-ing, it’s unbelievable, words cannot explain how I feel right now.

“Before my final throw, I thought ‘well this is my last time so I better go for it or else I’m not going to win’.

“I got tired in the middle two rounds but I just wanted to keep calm and focus on the day because anything can happen when you get through to the final.”

Hitchon, who won the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008 and was third in last year’s European Junior Championships, was watched on by her grandparents in Canada while mum and dad, Wendy and Michael, cheered her on from their Burnley family home.

“My grandpar-ents were here watching and they were a great help to me and my mum and dad will be back home excited jumping up and down.

“I don’t think it is ever going to sink in.”

Hitchon took the lead early, with a 62.72m first attempt, then when Spiler answered with a 64.44m throw in the second round, Hitchon went out to 64.55m.

Spiler again moved to the front with a fourth-round toss of 65.07m, and extended her lead with a 65.28m throw in the fifth round.

But in the second-to-last throw of the competition, Hitch-on saved her best until last with a throw of 66.01m to put her back in the lead.

In reply, Spiler could only manage 58.54m and was unable to reclaim the lead.

Hitchon admitted she struggled with the heat in Moncton.

“I’m from Britain and the weather didn’t really help me because I’m not used to it being so hot. The fact that I was neck and neck with the Slovenian all the way through made it a really good competition and really drove me forward.”

And it was double delight for Blackburn Harriers as Bleasdale, third-equal rank-ed in the world going into the championships, cleared 4.15m for bronze.

“It went really well, I’m so happy,” said the 18-year-old Runshaw College student.

Bleasdale struggled in the opening two rounds after failing at heights of 4.05m and 4.10m. She added: “There was a tough cross wind and I had a couple of scares but it’s amazing, I wasn’t sure I’d get a medal.”