KENT athlete Kelly Holmes has been selected to run the 1,500m for Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary, on March 5 to 7.

It will be a big test for the runner from Hildenborough, near Sevenoaks, who last weekend survived a dramatic last-lap collision with her training partner Maria Mutola to win the 1,000m at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham with a European and UK record time of 2:32.97.

Holmes had surged into the lead past the world 800m champion at the bell (2:02.15). Mutola refused to accept defeat and closed on her until, halfway down the back straight with 100m to go, she clipped Holmes’ heels.

Mutola crashed to the track. Holmes miraculously avoided all injury and drove on to lead a record spree in this rarely-run distance.