GOLDIE Sayers has confirmed her status as Britain s number one javelin thrower and a genuine medal contender for the World Championships in Osaka. The 24-year-old from Ely smashed the stadium record and won her fifth successive AAA senior title at the Nor

GOLDIE Sayers has confirmed her status as Britain's number one javelin thrower and a genuine medal contender for the World Championships in Osaka.

The 24-year-old from Ely smashed the stadium record and won her fifth successive AAA senior title at the Norwich Union World Trials and UK Championships in Manchester at the weekend.

The former King's School student won the title with a second round throw of 63.02m, which put her more than 10 metres ahead of her nearest rival.

With the World Championships just three weeks away, Sayers is hitting good form at just the right time.

She set a new British record of 65.05m in the first international event of the season in Loughborough and her latest performance pleased her.

She said: "Conditions weren't good. The crosswind certainly didn't help and it was pulling the javelin back, so it probably cost me a few metres."

"Shortly after I set the British record I picked up a back injury so I haven't been able to train as hard as I normally would.

"But that might have turned out to be a good thing because I'm fresher now.

"My sole focus is the World Championships and I know I'm capable of a good performance."

At the end of the BBC's televised broadcast from Manchester, UK Athletics' performance director, Dave Collins, picked out Sayers as one of Britain's World Championship medal contenders.

UK Athletics has set a target of getting 14 athletes into finals and winning three medals - the same as the medal tally achieved at the 2005 World Championships, in Helsinki, when Sayers made the finals.

She will now join the rest of the British team in Macau to begin acclimatisation for the hot and humid conditions they will face in Japan when the World Championships begin on August 25.

The women's javelin heats will take place on August 29 with the final two days later.