East London athlete Shakes Drayton looking is looking for a World Indoor title in Doha
Perri Shakes-Drayton admits this week s IAAF World Indoor Championships is not top of her wish-list for 2010
Perri Shakes-Drayton admits this week's IAAF World Indoor Championships is not top of her wish-list for 2010 - but that won't stop her gunning for medals in Doha.
The Victoria Park & Tower Hamlets AC athlete was a surprise inclusion in the 38-strong Aviva GB&NI team after she opted not to run her favoured 400m hurdles at the trials last month.
With one eye on the European Championships and Commonwealth Games later in the year Shakes-Drayton (pictured right) will run in the 4x400m relay team in the Middle East.
But despite concentrating her early season competitions on the 800m - the 22-year-old has only run over the longer distance in 2010 - she believes she can be a key part of a Doha medal hunt.
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"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," said Shakes-Drayton.
"I was not planning on going to the World Indoors at all because I just wanted to concentrate on the outdoor season, but now I am going I am really pleased to be there and be part of the team.
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"We have got a great team in the relay and I think everyone is confident we can be challenging for a medal.
"Even though I wasn't planning to do the World Indoors I was still really pleased to have been selected and I am looking forward to getting out there and hopefully running well and helping the team try and get a medal."
Shakes-Drayton had her first taste of senior international action last summer at the World Championships in Berlin - eventually bowing out in the semi-finals.
And with more international honours on the way in the Middle East, Shakes-Drayton admits she is starting to feel at home in the GB vest.
"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 get more international experience is great for me," added Shakes-Drayton.
"There are a few girls I know in the team and I think with every event you go to you start to feel more at home in the GB team so hopefully the experience of Doha will help me out a lot for the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games later in the year."
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.
