Emily Jenkinson has just become the British Under 10 biathlon champion.

The Hedge End youngster won the title in the lowest age bracket at the British Championships, held in Manchester at the weekend.

Emily, who attends Berrywood School, was up against nearly 60 other competitors who used the Commonwealth Games 2004 facilities for both running and swimming.

First of all, in the 1,000 metre run, she set a personal best by a massive six seconds with a time of 3mins 33.65sec.

That was only good enough to place her second with the 50m swim still to come. That meant an anxious wait to see if she could make up the shortfall of 32 points in the afternoon. Points are awarded as with the pentathlon, based against a target time in each discipline.

But her family and supporters need not have worried, as Emily set another PB by over 2 seconds to clock a time of 37.53s, which meant she won the Championship by over 50 points.

Emily's proud father, John Jenkinson, commented: "It was a great day for the family as we all went to Manchester to support her."

The talented nine-year-old's next big date comes in September when she'll compete in the British Biathle Championships at Salford.

That involves a 500metre run, a 50metre swim in open water at Salford Docks and then a further run of 500 metres.