Sarah Holt admitted she had to pinch herself after being handed a ticket to the European Athletics Team Championships – but the Cleckheaton hammer thrower insists she isn’t going just to make up the numbers.

The 23-year-old put her hand up for selection for the trip to Bergen this weekend by throwing 65.51 metres at the Loughborough International in late May.

Holt’s call-up will see her pull on the senior Great Britain vest for the first time, with further trips to the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games now a real possibility.

But with her current best still two metres short of qualifying standard needed for the Europeans, Holt is desperate to kill two birds with one stone in Norway.

“I was really pleased with the call-up to the European Team Championships because I really wasn’t expecting it,” said Holt.

“I thought I had a small chance because I have been competing quite well this year but I wasn’t expecting it to happen.

“I’m excited about going and I am sure it will be a great experience but at the same time I’m not just going there to say I’ve done it.

“I think it represents the perfect opportunity for me to try and get the qualification standard for the European Championships.

“The B standard is 67.50m and I have thrown within two metres of that in competition so I am hopeful of getting to it.”

The B standard would guarantee Holt a place on the plane to Barcelona for the European Championships, unless a fellow British athlete was to hit the A standard before the event next month.

But the 2009 BUCS champion, whose throw at Loughborough put her third in the UK rankings this year, isn’t expecting any of her domestic rivals to clear the 70-metre mark.

“If I made the B standard twice, then I would be pretty confident of going because it would mean someone has to make the A standard to overtake me, and I don’t think that is going to happen,” added Holt.

“I think that the European Team Championships will be a great stepping stone for me and a chance for me to stake my claim for a regular place in the senior teams and I want to make sure I do that.

”I’m sure the standard is going to be quite high but I tend to compete at my best during competitions rather than in training so hopefully I can rise to the occasion.

“I had a good year last year and I am determined this year to push on to make the senior level and I have already made the Commonwealth standard, so if I can go on from there and reach the Europeans it would be great.

“If I could finish a year having been to the European Team Championships, the Europeans and the Commonwealth Games then I would be really happy.”

* The UKA Heroes project, sponsored by Original Source, is a successful initiative which offers financial support to talented young athletes who are working towards the 2012 and 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.