Shropshire athlete Nick Woodbridge wins Olympics place

Nick Woodbridge was today confirmed as Shropshire's latest London 2012 Olympian after winning his battle for his place on the Modern Pentathlon team.

Woodbridge, who turns 26 next month and is from New Works in Telford, was due to be announced as one of two Team GB representatives to compete in the five discipline event.

It will be a second Olympic appearance for the former Wellington Swimming Club and Telford Athletic Club member after he finished in 25th position in Beijing four years ago.

The Shropshire athlete has spent the last year locked in a three-pronged battle with fellow Brits Jamie Cooke and Sam Weale to land one of the two places on offer.

And Woodbridge's recent displays have been enough to confirm his place at the summer showpiece, which begins on July 27.

Within the last month he has finished 10th at the World Championships in Rome and fifth in the World Cup final in China – a result which saw him eligible for Olympic qualification – while has also risen to fifth in the world rankings.

The highlight of Woodbridge's career to date was winning a bronze medal at the World Cup final in London last year, which doubled up as the Olympic test event.

He became the first British male to ever win a medal at a World Cup final in an event which comprises shooting, swimming, equestrian, running and fencing.

Woodbridge, who took up the sport in 1999, has also notched eight top-10 finishes in World Cup competition, including two bronze medals, and won gold in the World Youth Championships in September in 2004.

His place in the team was being rubber-stamped at an announcement at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich today, where the identity of the athlete claiming the other spot was also being revealed.

Woodbridge joins Church Stretton archer Alison Williamson, who is heading to her sixth Olympics, as confirmed Shropshire participants in London.