EAST Lancashire's London 2012 silver medallist Samantha Murray has been selected in Great Britain's four-person modern pentathlon squad for August's Olympic Games in Rio.

Kate French, Joe Choong and James Cook will make their Olympic debuts in the sport in which Britain has fine Olympic pedigree.

Clitheroe's Murray said: "The Olympic Games means everything to me. Having competed at London I now know what it's all about, I know what it's like to compete at the Games, and I feel like I know what it takes to get on the podium again.

"That has been my goal now for four years, to become the first British female pentathlete to win medals at two Olympic Games.

"We have won a medal at every Games since Sydney, so we have consistently shown people that we are a really strong nation at pentathlon. I don't think this year will be an exception."

Clitheroe's Murray was the seventh Team GB medal since the sport made its first appearance at an Olympic Games in 1912.

Five of those medals have come since the women's individual event began at Sydney 2000, where Stephanie Cook won gold.

Modern pentathlon is made up of five disciplines: swimming, horse-riding, fencing, shooting and running. The latter two events are combined in the final event of a competition.

Murray was the first to qualify for Britain at Rio with her performance at the 2015 World Championships, where the 26-year-old from Clitheroe was fifth.

French, 25 from Gravesend, and Choong, 21 from Orpington, earned their ticket at the 2015 European Championships in Bath, where all four British athletes are based.

Cooke, who narrowly missed out on a place at London 2012, made the cut with a top-10 finish at the 2016 World Championships in Moscow, following two World Cup victories earlier in the year.