SAMANTHA Murray boosted her Olympic hopes by winning the first Modern Pentathlon World Cup medal of her career when she took bronze in Russia.

The 22-year-old from Clitheroe followed up her fourth place in Hungary a week ago and sixth in the USA last month with the best result of her career to date.

But it could have been even better for the former Bowland High School pupil who went in to the run/shoot event in the gold medal position.

She was eventually caught by Anastasiya Prokopenko of Belarus and Victoria Tereshuk – the Ukraine’s Olympic bronze medallist and reigning world champion.

“It is a great performance to win my first World Cup medal,” said Murray who is also a member of Blackburn Harriers. “My running is normally better but I didn't have it in my legs.”

Murray, who is a French and Politics student at the University of Bath, now be hoping to make the GB team for the World Championships in Rome in May, which is the next chance for athletes to achieve the Olympic qualifying standard. It is also an opportunity to try to qualify for the World Cup Final in China – the last chance to score valuable ranking points that could ultimately help athletes qualify for 2012.

Jan Bartu, Pentathlon GB Performance Director of the GB programme, said: “Samantha did really and went on to win the first big medal of her career. She demonstrated consistency at a high level.”