Shakes-Drayton looking ahead to European Championships to prove her quality

PERRI Shakes-Drayton insists she can prove she has more than just potential if she gets chosen to represent Great Britain in Barcelona at the European Athletics Championships in June.

READY TO SHINE: Perri Shakes-Drayton is looking to cement her place on the world stage in 2010 (Getty Images)

Specialising in the 400m hurdles, the East End girl took the under 23 European title last year with a run of 55.26 seconds but suffered disappointment when she failed to qualify for the final in her first major event at the World Championships in Berlin.

Shakes-Drayton showed her quality when she won the 400m hurdles trial for the Beijing 2008 Olympics but did not compete for the British team after failing to obtain the A grade selection standard, losing out to Tasha Danvers, who was chosen instead and went on to win bronze in China.

The 21-year-old is focussing on this season's major outdoor events as she looks to cement her place on the world stage and ensure she is at the top of her game before London 2012 comes around.

"The European Championships will be my first priority because they come first but then I am excited about going to the Commonwealth Games too," she said.

"I think with every event you go to you start to feel more at home in the GB team, so hopefully my experiences so far will help me out a lot for the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games later in the year.

"Those two championships were always my big aim for the year and it would be fantastic to go to both those championships and get some more experience and do well there.

"I really enjoyed my first experience of a senior major international event at the World Championships last summer and any chance I can get to gain more international experience is great for me."

The hurdler has been chosen to represent Great Britain in the 400m relay at this week's World Indoor Athletics Championships in Doha but admitted it was never part of this season's plans.

But with the clock ticking down until London 2012, Shakes-Drayton knows the more experience at major events she can get, the more prepared she will be to give the performance of a life time in front of her home crowd.

"I was not planning on going to the World Indoors at all because I just wanted to concentrate on the outdoor season.  However, now I am going I am really pleased to be part of the team," she added.

"I am really happy to be going to Doha because it is another major championship experience for me which is really good for my development.

"Because I wasn't planning to go I have been doing the 800m earlier in the season to build up my endurance.

"And hopefully that endurance will help me out later in the summer with the outdoor season. 

"I am confident the World Indoors won't disrupt my training too much for the rest of the season."

Aviva has been proud to have helped and supported the Aviva GB & NI junior, senior and disability teams as they prepare for all major events and championships since 1999. Visit www.aviva.co.uk/athletics for more information