LOREN Bleaken was left in no doubt that lady luck was smiling her way after the Marshfield youngster’s first-ever appearance at the British Indoor Champ-ionships ended with a shock medal.

The 19-year-old, who is a student at City of Bath College, kicked off her 400m campaign at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield by running a season’s best 54.98 in her heat and qualifying for the semi-finals as one of the fastest losers on Saturday.

Bleaken then secured the sixth and final berth in Sunday’s final by running 55.25 before the stars aligned to set her on the path to a championship bronze.

Both London 2012 Olympian Margaret Adoye and Seren Dundy-Davies collided in the showpiece race, allowing the Wiltshire youngster to finish fourth (55.87) behind Norway’s Tara Norum, taking home the bronze medal as the third-fastest British finisher.

“It was absolutely crazy,” said Bleaken, who trains under coach Malcolm Arnold at the University of Bath.

“I was just so happy to make the final because it was my first time and it’s my first season as an U23.

“I was in lane one, which is the toughest one to be in because everyone tries to come into it as they brake. But the first two girls collided and I came in fourth.

“I’d completely forgotten that the girl in front of me was from Norway – it was a slightly bittersweet feeling because of how the race went but these things happen in athletics.

“Sometimes everything goes against you, but this time everything seemed to go my way.”

In August last year, Bleaken won a silver medal as part of the Great Britain 4x400m relay team at the IAAF World Junior Games in Eugene, Oregon, in the USA, and after growing up as a long-distance runner, she now sees herself as a devotee to the single-lap format.

Bleaken said: “I don’t think that I’ll ever forget the world juniors but this was also special because it was my first senior medal.

“I used to do a lot of cross country but because of how I’m built, I think I’m more of a power runner. Last year was my first full year doing 400m and the big aim now for this year is to try and make the European U23s, which are in Tallinn (in July).”