Invicta East Kent AC star Bobby Clay will compete in the IAAF World Junior Championships after being named in the final GB squad for the trip to Oregon later this month.

A 46-strong squad was announced on Tuesday, with Clay one of two GB participants in the women’s 1,500m.

She said: “I was hopeful I’d done enough to make it but it wasn’t until Monday that my mum got the call to say I had.

“I wasn’t allowed to say anything before the announcement but I went to school on Tuesday and think the smile on my face might have given it away.”

The 17-year-old (pictured) from Wingham could only finish second behind Amy Griffiths, who claimed the sole automatic place, at the trials in Bedford last month.

However, she reversed the fortunes with a strong showing in a junior race at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, last Wednesday.

The Sir Roger Manwood’s School pupil led from gun to tape, stopping the clock in 4.18.27, with Griffiths finishing fourth in 4.21.71.

She said: “It was such a good experience. Amy and I are good friends off the track and we travelled on the athletes bus and there all these athletes we had seen on TV and read about in magazines.

“We were just chatting to Kim Collins (former World and Commonwealth 100m champion) and he was asking us about what we were up to and our event. It was incredible.”

Clay will jet out to north west USA on Monday ahead of the competition, which runs from July 22 to 27 before taking a family holiday in the US after the end of her competition.
She said: “After I get back having relaxed a bit, I might try some 800s.”

Clay is young enough to be eligible for another appearance at the under-20 world championships in two years’ time and she said: “I am excited. It’s going to be great experience for me.

“It’s going to be hard, even getting through the heats, although my aim going into the competition is just to make the final.

“There’s another Worlds in two years’ time and hopefully this experience will help me progress towards that.”