Twell wins to boost Beijing hopes

Twell has already met the 1500m Olympic 'A' qualifying standard

Britain's Stephanie Twell has boosted her Olympic hopes by winning the 1500m at the IAAF World Junior Championships.

Twell, 18, decided to run in Poland instead of the Olympic trials, where Lisa Dobriskey and Susan Scott claimed the two automatic places for Beijing.

But UK Athletics selectors can allocate a third slot at their discretion and Twell's win, in four minutes and 15.09 seconds, means she must be considered.

Fellow Briton Emma Pallant finished third in a time of 4:17.06.

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Twell, from Aldershot, has an open mind on her chances of being selected for Beijing, saying: "I've run the qualifying time and I don't want to rule that out but, for me, the Olympics coming to London (in 2012) is the icing on the cake."

Another bright young British hope for the future, Stoke sprinter Ashlee Nelson, won silver in the 100m in Poland on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old Nelson, brother of 200m runner Alex Nelson, finished 0.12 secs behind the USA's Jeneba Tarmoh in a time of 11.49.