KARLA Drew will celebrate her 21st birthday later this month — but it is unlikely she will receive anything that will give her greater pleasure than making her debut for Great Britain this weekend.

The Heavitree athlete makes her international bow in an under-23 combined events match in Bompas, near Perpignan, France, on Saturday when she will represent Britain against teams from Spain and the host country.

It will be a landmark occasion for her, her family and coaches Ruth and Barry Godbeer and one that she hopes will be the first of many.

"I am very excited about making my debut," said Drew. "All my GB kit has arrived and that has brought it home to me and I'm really looking forward to the event."

Drew only switched to multi-events last year so admits she has been shocked by her progress.

"A few years ago I was hoping I would be picked for the 100m hurdles, as that was my best event and as this is only my second year in the heptathlon I had never given international selection a second thought," she said. "But it has given me something different to focus on and training has gone really well. And now that I am at Exeter University, everything is fitting together well."

But selection is not a goal in itself and Drew is now looking to ensure that her GB debut is memorable for all the right reasons. She said: "I was picked as a reserve so my aim is to try to be the first British athlete. Everyone will be expecting me to finish fourth of the four British girls but I'll be aiming to register personal bests in at least four of the events and we'll see where that takes me."