THE Winter Olympics are still in full swing but Joanne Savastico's thoughts are turning to sunnier climes.

The 21-year-old (pictured) will say farewell to her workmates at a Redditch factory next week ahead of a five-week trip Down Under where she will be flying the flag for England at the Commonwealth Games.

Savastico is one of three women weightlifters in the England team heading for Melbourne - a trip of a lifetime that she hopes will set her up for the future.

"It is going to be a huge learning curve but I'm hoping I can gain valuable experience ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi and the 2012 Olympics," she said.

Savastico is a machine tool fitter at Moons Moat firm Heller Machine Tools. She was apprentice of the year in 2004 and is currently studying engineering at Warwick University.

And she heads to Australia in a rich vein of form after back-to-back victories. She won the British u23s championships in Hounslow and then led the way at the British Students Games in Halifax.

She also finished just outside the top three at October's Commonwealth Championships, a warm-up to the main event in Melbourne.