GOLDIE Sayers believes she will break the British record this year after making her best start to a season. The Ely-based javelin thrower won a silver medal for Great Britain at the European Cup Winter Throwing competition in Ukraine, on Saturday. She man

GOLDIE Sayers believes she will break the British record this year after making her best start to a season.

The Ely-based javelin thrower won a silver medal for Great Britain at the European Cup Winter Throwing competition in Ukraine, on Saturday.

She managed 60.02 metres - three metres further than she has ever thrown in a first major international competition of the season - despite swirling winds.

The contest was held at Yalta, on the Black Sea coast, and attracted a record entry of 203 athletes from 26 countries.

Germany's European champion Steffi Nerius won gold with a personal best of 63.14m and Italy's Zahra Bani took bronze with 58.95m.

Sayers said: "That performance gives me a lot of confidence going into a really important year and I think the British record will be going this season.

"I expected to throw well and didn't really surprise myself because everything has been going brilliantly in training. I took a few scalps of some top European athletes who have medalled better than me in the past - I was particularly pleased to beat Zahra Bani."

The British record stands at 64.87m and Sayers' personal best, thrown in May 2005, is 61.45m.

Sayers suffered a traumatic season last year when a combination of injury and illness halted her progress of throwing a personal best every season since she started competing at senior level.

The 24-year-old British No.1 believes her new coach, former Great Britain javelin thrower Mark Roberson, has had a major impact in her recent improvement and gives her confidence at the start of a season that will see her go to the World Championships in Japan and prepare for the Olympic Games in China next year.

She said: "I've known Mark for more than 10 years. He knows my technique and rhythm very well and we've been working at getting everything natural again.

"I'm physically better than I've ever been and I believe I can get close to a medal in Japan.