Most people would think a junior doctor's job is tiring enough – but not Charlotte Murphy.

Not content with working achingly long hours in Leicester's hospitals, she also spends every spare moment she has training for a place in the British Olympic fencing team.

Charlotte is determined not just to make Britain's Olympic squad – and already has an eye on 2012 glory.

She said: "You can't do any better than an Olympic medal and, while it is difficult to balance work, study and training, the feeling of getting into the GB team and competing in my home country will be amazing."

The 24-year-old is a relative newcomer to sport, but is already shooting up the national rankings and determined to go all the way to the top.

She took up fencing about six years ago when she came to the University of Leicester to study medicine.

Charlotte, from Clarendon Park, Leicester, soon got a taste for competition and is a member of the East Midlands fencing squad.

She is now ranked 29th in the British women's sabre fencing category – and has a plan to keep progressing to the top.

She hopes her tough training will pay off, and aims to be in the top three within the next two years in order to qualify for an Olympic place.

To do that, she constantly has to juggle her medical shifts to make sure she can fit in about 20 hours of training a week, split into five sessions.

Charlotte, a junior doctor for the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: "I took up fencing when I came to Leicester because I thought it seemed a good idea at the time. I really enjoy it – it is a bit like three-dimensional chess at high speed."

She is ranked second in the East Midlands in the sabre fencing class, and has won medals in county, regional and national competitions.

She has also captained the University of Leicester's women's team.

Charlotte, who is about to begin a job in orthopaedics, said: "I really enjoy competing as it uses a large amount of mental and physical ability.

"Sabre fencing is a lot faster and more fun to watch.

"It was invented in Hungary, which is one of the best places to train.

"Each year, I go there to be trained by Szepesi Laszlo, who trained the French team to silver in Athens and gold in Beijing.

"I am also medical officer at the camp, so I am still working while I'm abroad."

Charlotte, who is eventually hoping to specialise in sports medicine, is no stranger to competition.

As a child, she was a keen ice skater and took part in a series of contests.

In 2002, she won the British Championship for synchronised ice skating.

Dr Rob Gregory, assistant clinical director for medicine at Leicester's hospitals, said: "It is hard enough to organise your life around a busy emergency medical rota without having to fit in training and competition for an Olympic sport.

"However, Charlotte seems to have managed it by being flexible and gaining the support of her peers.

"We wish her every success in her two careers."