Nathan Douglas was forced to settle for second spot behind Olympic champion Christian Olsson in the triple jump at the Norwich Union Grand Prix in Birmingham.

Douglas, who set a personal best of 17.19m en route to the national title last week, could not find the same sort of distance although he produced a consistent series of jumps with 16.97m on his final attempt the Oxford City athlete's best effort.

Olsson had only one legal jump, but that effort of 17.34m underlined his class.

Douglas said: "I was just a bit off today. I was losing distance on the step phase and I am not sure why.

"I did enjoy the competition and I am looking forward to the Europeans."

Oxford City's Hannah England produced a stunning 1500m victory to earn the female athlete-of-the-match award at the UK Indoor City Challenge Final at EIS Sheffield.

Her time of 4mins 17.7secs was a lifetime best by more then seven seconds, representing an improvement of almost one second per lap.

England was initially headed by 800m winner Celia Brown, who set off at a blistering pace.

However, the Oxford City runner had plenty left in the tank, and cruised to victory with a burst to the line in the final 300m.

England, who celebrates her 20th birthday next month and is studying biochemistry at Birmingham University, said: "This has been my best winter's training. I was injured during last summer, but since then I have greatly increased my mileage.

"I've also got myself into a proper routine, which is probably not what one expects of a student - sleep early, eat properly, do all my training properly."

Despite England's effort, Oxford finished seventh out of eight.

Radley athlete Carolyn Plateau is ready to put a nightmare year behind her with a little help from a famous friend.

Plateau, 18, spent the weekend in Birmingham as part of Kelly Holmes's 'Norwich Union On Camp with Kelly' mentoring initiative.

The youngster, who missed most of last season with a stress fracture, is aiming for a place on Holmes's two-week training camp later this year.

"Everything is beginning to heal quite well and I'm feeling much more confident," said Plateau, who is studying experimental psychology at Oriel College.