CITY of Plymouth discus star Nubia Evans-Shields enjoyed a winning international debut as she claimed victory for England Schools in Belfast on Saturday.

The Plymouth College pupil, who has dominated the discus event in her age group since under-13 level, won the SIAB International in Northern Ireland.

Evans-Shields claimed the intermediate girls’ competition (U17) by more than one metre.

However, the two-time English Schools’ champion had to show real character to take the victory ahead of stiff competition from England team-mate Charlotte Banks and Scotland’s Meghan Porterfield, who are both a year older than her.

Banks took the lead in the first round with 39.19m, but Evans-Shields came back in the second round with a throw of 39.47m, only for Banks to regain the lead with an effort of 39.76m with her third effort.

Evans-Shields had to wait until the penultimate fifth round to finally put herself back in front with, what proved to be a winning throw, of 40.78m. That was the only effort of the day over 40-metres, but Scotland’s Porterfield, who also won the shot, came within six centimetres of taking silver ahead of Banks with 39.70m with her final throw.

Evans-Shields was one of two Devon winners for England in Belfast as Innes Fitzgerald smashed the British U17 3,000m record to win that event with a 8:59.67 run, which moves her into the UK’s top 10 women for 2022.

Meanwhile, a former SIAB International medallist, Tavistock’s Edward Fileman made the podium at the England U20/U23 Championships in Bedford, which were doubling as the British trials for the Junior World Championships.

Fileman finished third in the U20 men’s discus event with a throw of 49.90m. He was only beaten by Newham & Essex Beagle’s Rhys Allen and North Shields’ James Wordsworth.

Fellow Tavistock AC athlete Josh Tyler just missed out on a medal at Bedford. He finished fourth in the U23 men’s shot event with a PB throw of 14.73m.

Another Tavistock athlete, Sammie Harris, did reached the final of the U23 women’s 100m hurdles with a 14.26 second heat run but did not start the final.

City of Plymouth’s Jacob Lamboll did reach the final of the U20 men’s 400m race. He clocked 49.01 seconds in the heats to book his spot in the showpiece event, where he ran 49.03 to finish seventh.