Kate French is in Moscow this week aiming to book her place in Great Britain’s team for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The 25-year-old from Gravesend is one of four women in a nine-strong British contingent at the Modern Pentathlon World Championships in the Russian capital.

Modern pentathlon sees athletes compete in five disciplines on the same day – fencing, swimming, horse riding and a combined run/shoot. Great Britain have won nine medals at the last four World Championships.

French has already reached the qualification standard for Rio 2016 but she faces strong competition from her British team-mates for one of the two Olympic places.

Former world champion Samatha Murray and Scotland’s Joanna Muir and Freyja Prentice are competing alongside French, although the quartet are ultimately in direct competition.

French said: “It is hard because we train (together) day in, day out but it’s also good because we’re all really competitive. Because we’re fighting for two spots, it pushes us more and we get better performances out of it.

“This is a huge part of the selection. It’s the biggest competition of the year and the last before (Olympic) selection is made. If I do well, it will enhance my chances of getting selected."

Competition started on Monday and the championships conclude this Sunday, with French totally focused on the job in hand.

She said: “It is hard to not get excited about Rio, especially as it’s all over the media at the moment, but the World Championships are my focus at the moment.

“I’ve been really happy (with my form). There’s been one discipline each time that’s let me down a little bit so it’s just getting it all out on the same day. I’ve got targets for each discipline. If I achieve them, that should get me near the top.”