SOUTHAMPTON AC’s Sophie Merritt will be checking in some valuable cargo on her way home from the Commonwealth Youth Games in Samoa.

After competing in her first major international championships for England, the 17-year-old from Newbridge, near Cadnam, has one silver and one bronze medal to tuck away in her suitcase.

Competing at the picturesque Apia Park Sports Stadium, in the shadow of the mountains, Merritt followed a hard-fought third place in the women’s discus by finishing runner-up in the shot put.

Conditions were not great for throwing and the circle itself was incredibly slippery, taking the Peter Symonds College student time to adapt.

After three rounds in the discus she was lying outside the medals in fourth place, but she rose to the occasion in round four with a fantastic throw of 44.83 to push herself into bronze medal spot.

Buoyed by that performance, Merritt went into the shot in confident mood but quickly found herself under the biggest pressure of her sporting life, having two ‘no throws.’

Not only did her third throw need to count, she also needed to ensure it was in excess of 13 metres to stay in the competition.

Taking up the story, her proud dad Colin said: “Sophie completely changed her technique ten months ago and is still a long way from becoming confident with it.

“However, she drew on all her experience and not only achieved a scoring throw, but the distance of 14.86 successfully qualified her for the final three throws.

“Now able to relax a little, Sophie drew on all her reserves and, with a throw of 15.78, successfully secured the silver medal.

“Sophie is somewhat smaller than her competitors but her strength, ability and heart are a match for most.

“It is testament to her throwing talent that not only did she earn selection by England Athletics for two different events, she justified the faith they showed in her with two medal-winning performances.”

Merritt travelled to the South Pacific with her family who kept coach Dave Callaway in touch with her progress throw by throw.

Dad Colin added: “Sophie is quick to heap praise on Dave and his wife Deb, without whom she feels certain she would not have gained selection for the Games, let alone have any thoughts of winning medals.

“Both Deb and Dave give up a lot to support, coach and guide Sophie.

“Sophie is also grateful for the financial support she receives from the Hampshire Talented Athletes Scheme as well as SportsAid, which goes a long way towards covering the cost of specialist equipment.”