Anneliese Heard's Olympic dream is back on track after the Gwent star won her appeal to be included in the Great Britain team.

Gwent triathlon star Heard was involved in a nasty pile-up during Sunday's Madeira World Cup meeting.

She needed to finish as one of the top three British Athletes to qualify for the Athens Olympic qualifiers.

Her chances were looking good until a team-mate crashed into her leaving her no chance of finishing the race and with a badly damaged wrist which rules her out of this weekend's Athens World Cup.

But Heard ( pictured) appealed to the GB selectors, claiming she deserved to be in the team for the qualifiers and that the crash wasn't her fault, and luckily they agreed.

"It's a great relief to know that I'm in the team and will be competing in the Olympic qualifiers," said a delighted Heard.

"It's all wide open now and I've got a few months to get my head down and work hard. "I'm having another x-ray on my wrist but the doctor has assured me nothing is broken. If it clears up in time then I can compete in the World Championships in December.

"I then have until April to reach my peak and make the team for the Olympics."

Nine British athletes will be vying for those crucial three places in next year's Olympics but Heard is confident she can make the team.

"As I've seen this weekend, so much can happen between now and then. All the athletes are pretty much even and it really depends on who performs on the day.

"But out of the nine British athletes I would say six, including myself, are all real contenders to make it."

Heard, who will fly out to Australia in November, is not too displeased to be missing this weekend's Athens World Cup.

"My brother's getting married and at least it means I can now go to that."

* Welsh triathletes Leanda Cave and Marc Jenkins will be competing in Athens over the Olympic course.

Cave, who lives and trains in Swansea, said: "It's like a trial run in a way. This race is important because I' ll get a feel for the course and it'll prepare me well for the Olympics. It's going to be tough because all the top names will be there and of course, there are valuable points to gain."