Athletics: Year of the Big Breakthrough - Kelly Morgan

In her professional life, Kelly Morgan has just been promoted. "I'm a lance-corporal now," she said. In her sporting life, the former Private Morgan, an Army clerk with the Royal Logistics Corps in Abingdon, has been promoted beyond her dreams this year. She started 2002 ranked 104th among the world's javelin throwers. She finishes the year ranked No 6.

It is the biggest global advance made by a female British athlete in the past 12 months, though by no means the only one of significance (Lee McConnell progressed from 61st to 12th at 400m, Jade Johnson from 51st to 16th in the long jump, Helen Pattinson from 46th to 8th at 1500m and Julie Hollman from 34th to 12th in the heptathlon). Only two British women stand higher in the world order in track-and-field events: Paula Radcliffe (first at 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon and second at 3,000m) and Ashia Hansen (second in the triple jump). And no British athlete has occupied such lofty heights in the women's javelin since 1988, when Tessa Sanderson stood third and Fatima Whitbread sixth.

It has indeed been a big breakthrough year for the 22-year-old Salisbury woman. It might simply have been a break year for her, though. Right through the summer season, Morgan was troubled by an injured shoulder. It explained why she finished 12th at the European Championships in Munich, although a chest infection also contributed towards restricting her to a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester. In the circumstances, it was even more of a wonder that she launched herself into world-class territory, throwing 63.03m at the Commonwealth trials in Manchester and 63.87m and 64.87m at the AAA Championships in Birmingham, all British records with the redesigned javelin that was introduced in 1999 (and which rendered obsolete the distances achieved by Whitbread and Sanderson).

It took Morgan four cortisone injections to get through the season, but seven weeks ago she underwent surgery to correct the problem to her right shoulder. "They shaved away part of the acromion process, which is a little hook of bone that sits above the head of the humerus," she said. "Basically, it's increased the space inside the shoulder."

In the short term, the operation has eaten into the time Morgan has to get ready for the 2003 summer season. She has only just been given the go-ahead to resume running work, after six weeks limited to cycling and stretching, and is unlikely to start throwing a javelin in training until March. "The most important thing is that the operation has happened this year," she said, "so, all being well, touching wood, there shouldn't be any interruptions to the winter training for Olympic year. That's the main thing.

"As far as next season is concerned, the World Championships are not until the end of August, so in effect I don't have to start my season until late June. I think I'll just have to be patient and not expect everything to happen all at once, as soon as I start the season, and gradually build up to the end of August. And then, hopefully, I'll start hitting the sort of distances that I did this season."

The best of those distances, 64.87m, put Morgan within three metres of the best throw in the world this year – the 67.47m mark that won European gold for Mirela Manjani of Greece. "I didn't expect to throw that far," Morgan confessed. "I completely didn't expect it. I mean, this injury has been going on for 18 months. Bearing that in mind, it's a real good boost of confidence. To think of myself as sixth in the world is fantastic, a great platform to build on."

It is indeed – and it could well lead Morgan to the platforms once occupied by Sanderson, the Olympic champion of 1984, and Whitbread, the world champion of 1987. Not that she has any vivid memories of the golden days of British women's javelin throwing, having been born in 1980. "I think I do have vague recollections," she said. "I certainly remember reading Tessa Sanderson's autobiography when I started throwing, when I was 11 or 12 years old, and thinking, 'Wow, maybe I could be as good as that'.

"I've known Tessa for probably a couple of years. She's been around and shown her support – 'Anything I can do?' sort of thing, which is really nice. I've never met Fatima Whitbread, never heard from her. I don't know the woman at all. But throwers like Fatima and Tessa, and Steve Backley, are legendary, really. I have a lot of respect for them."

Morgan, in fact, shares the same coach as Backley, the four-time European champion and three-time Olympic medallist. Indeed, it is since she started working with John Trower last winter that she has started to realise the promise she first showed as winner of the English schools title back in 1994, putting her other sporting life on "the back burner". As a netball player, the multi-talented Morgan was good enough to represent the England development team last year. She played for the shadow national side against the world champion Australians at Guildford. "That was a fantastic experience, something that will stay with me for a long time," she said.

Whether the goal shooter can become a golden thrower remains to be seen. After her step up to world class this year, though, the prospects of further promotion look distinctly bright for Lance-Corporal Morgan.