JADE O’Dowda says becoming the national heptathlete champion in her first year of competing in the event is still sinking in.

The Oxford City athlete scored a personal best of 4,729 points to win gold at the England Athletics U17 Combined Events Championships in Bedford.

After moving up to the Under 17 age group this year, it is the first time the 15-year-old has been able to compete in the heptathlon – which consists of seven disciplines.

O’Dowda, who was second in the country before Sunday’s competition, is now top of the Under 17 British rankings and 30th on the all-time list for her age group.

She said: “It feels very good – it has not quite sunk in yet.

“Not being top of the rankings took the pressure off.”

O’Dowda went into the competition after time out with a leg injury that forced her to pull out of the ESAA Midland Schools Championships in Nuneaton at the end of June.

However, she returned to the track in style, winning the 80m hurdles in 11.82secs.

And she never once relinquished her lead throughout the event, beating her previous personal best by 170 points.

She also set new marks in the long jump (5.45m) and javelin (25.81).

The teenager, who was competing in only her second heptathlon, admitted even she was surprised by the performance.

She said: “I was not expecting much going into it because of the injury.

“I was worried for the hurdles, because that was how I got the injury and that was the first event.

“When that was over I felt good again.”

O’Dowda added: “I like competing at these big events.

“I know quite a few of the girls I compete with and I have built up a friendly rivalry.”

O’Dowda, the younger sister of Oxford United winger Callum, started athletics three years ago and is coached by former British heptathlete Marcia Marriott.

Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill and 18-year-old Morgan Lake are among O’Dowda’s idols and she has set her sights on the latter’s under 17 points haul.

Lake holds the record with 5,474 and O’Dowda hopes to break the 5,000 mark over the next 12 months.

She said: “We were looking at her (Lake’s) personal bests and, as I am under 17, she was going over 5,000 points and that is what I want to be able to do by next year.

“I think mainly I would have to improve the throws and maybe run the 800m a bit quicker.”

Marriott says she saw potential in O’Dowda from the first training session.

She said: “Jade has that get up and go look about her.

“She is very motivated, very focused, knows what she wants and is a worker.

“It was a fantastic performance at Bedford.”