LAURA Langowski keeps on surprising herself this year – after reaching the 400m final at the Indoor UK Trials and Championships a week after setting a new personal best.

The 27-year-old, from Tamworth, travelled to the EIS in Sheffield fresh from lowering her lifetime best by one hundredth of a second to 54.04 seconds at the Birmingham Games at the NIA on February 4.

And while she didn't lower it at the Indoor UK Trials and Championships, she looked impressive on the way to the 400m final – winning her heat and finishing second in her semi-final.

Langowski missed out on a medal, coming fourth behind Nicola Sanders, whom she had claimed the scalp of in an earlier round.

But Langowski admitted to leaving the Steel City even more buoyed by her start to the year.

"I've had a really good winter so I have just been looking forward to racing and seeing what I could do, but it's always going to be a surprise to get a personal best at this time of year," she said.

"To make the final was always the outside target, but to make the semi-final was the real aim. So to actually run in the final – I was over the moon.

"I wasn't sure about winning a medal because the calibre of the girls in the final was high.

"It was just really good to be running with them.

"I haven't really peaked for indoors because I'm still in heavy training, so to be doing this well already is great."

She added: "I've got a 200m coming up in Birmingham, just to get a bit of speed back, and that will probably be it then. I'll just enjoy it and see what speed I've got."

Langowski crossed the finish line in the 400m final in a time of 54.24 – two tenths outside the personal best she set at the Birmingham Games the weekend before.

And the Tamworth sprinter, who failed to finish her semi-final at last year's Indoor UK Championships, credits a switch of training group as one of the reasons for her positive start to the year.

"I've joined a new group this year in Loughborough and that has gone really well and it's always nice to see your hard work pay off with a good time," she added.

"I have been doing 800m to help with my endurance training and I think that has helped me because I feel really strong."

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