GROWING older is not something most of us contemplate with much pleasure but for Hereford pole vaulter Irie Hill, her 35th birthday on Friday will herald a year of great opportunity.

At 35, Hill will become an official 'Masters' athlete and, as the current World Masters Record holder for the unofficial age group of 30-34 years when she won the long jump, triple jump and pole vault at the last World Masters Championship in Melbourne Australia, she sees further challenges ahead.

Her personal best for the pole vault is just two centimetres behind the world record for the over-35 age group and 70cm ahead of the UK record. She has also consistently long-jumped and triple-jumped further than the UK records for those events over the past six months.

"I am really looking forward to this year," said Hill, speaking from her warm weather training camp Down Under. "I know I can set a world record in the pole vault and I know that this would also mean a qualifying jump for the Olympics, so there is a double win right away.

"With the first ever World Masters Indoors near my parents' home in Germany in March, I am also aiming to win the vault and maybe pick up a medal in one of the other jumps and the hurdles. Then it's all down to performing outdoors and hopefully making the Olympic team in July."

Hill, who has fully recovered from the injury which curtailed her 2003 campaign began the current season last weekend in Bendigo.