University of Nottingham student and international high-jumper Isobel Pooley has her sights set on a place at London 2012 after taking gold at the BUCS Indoor Athletics Championships in Sheffield.

Success at her first university championships comes just weeks after the Biosciences student set a new personal best of 1.88 metres – a mark just 4cm short of the British Olympic team’s provisional qualification mark.

Isobel said: “I’m over the moon to have won the Championships. There were some great contenders for the title so I am delighted to have been able to pull out a good performance when it really mattered and to have done the University proud!

“With the Olympic qualification standards as they are I could earn a place on the team with only a 4cm improvement on my personal best, and I have four months to achieve this. Selection takes place in early July, with the Olympic Trials in late June, so for me it’s just a case of training hard and hoping that the rewards will come in time for London.”

The University’s sports department, which is aiming to be The Academic University of Choice for talented sports-people, provided Isobel with a bursary to help her balance her academic and sporting commitments.

Nigel Mayglothling, Assistant Director of Sport, said: “Our University has a proud tradition of supporting academic students in pursuit of Olympic glory and we will continue to support Isobel in every way possible towards London 2012 and the Road to Rio for 2016.

“Isobel is still very young in high-jumping terms so the future is clearly bright and we’re looking forward to her competing for us again in the BUCS Outdoors event in the Olympic Stadium this June — hopefully only a warm-up event for her to compete there again later in the year.”

Isobel added: “Without sounding boastful or cocky I am confident that I will break the British Record (1.95m) one day. My success so far has been remarkable and I’m still very young in high-jump terms — jumpers are at their prime in their late 20s so I have plenty of years left in the game!

“Obviously my height is an advantage, something I inherited from my Dad — he’s 6ft 10in and I’m 6ft 3in, and I know that I have the drive and the commitment to go all the way.”