POLE vaulter Kate Dennison believes she will be finally viewed as an international threat this year.

The 25-year-old has spent the past three months adjusting to using longer poles in order to breach the gap between her and current world record-holder Yelena Isinbayeva.

The Alsager vaulter broke the British record for fun last season, finally ending the year with a best of 4.60m – 20 centimetres better than 2008 – and finished a career-best sixth at the World Championships in Berlin.

Despite that, Dennison was still 20cm shy of Anna Rogowska's world gold leap and even further off Isinbayeva's world record of 5.06m.

Dennison attempted to make the step up to longer poles two years, ago only to revert back after failing – but the Sale Harrier believes history won't be repeating itself this year.

"The aim for this season has been to start using the longer poles. Hopefully, once I get used to them, the bigger heights will follow," she said.

"Using shorter poles meant I was not as high off the ground as everyone else, but this year with the longer poles and bigger grips, if all goes to plan, the heights will come as well.

"The girls in Berlin were all using the longer poles. I tried using them two years ago, but I wasn't ready. Now I think I am.

"My next target is to jump 4.70m, which will put me up there with the rest of the leading girls in the world. Hopefully they will then view me as a threat.

"About 4.70m gets you on the podium, and if you can jump consistently around that then you are in with a shout."

The British number one has already been in action with the longer poles this year and will continue to travel around Europe prior to the British Indoor Championships and World Trials next month.

She has lifted the British indoor crown for the past four years running, and also finished sixth at last year's European Indoor Championships in Turin.

However, Dennison, who will board the plane for the World Indoor Championships in Doha next month, is keeping her cards close to her chest over what she wants to achieve.

"I have been to a fair few major indoor championships and I think last year I had a bit of a breakthrough," she added.

"I didn't really have too many expectations of myself and it all went well.

"This year I do have expectations regarding the world indoors, but I am keeping them a secret."

Kate Dennison is training for victory in the new NikeWomen Fly Sister One shoe, featuring Diamond FLX technology, created especially for women to enhance multi-directional movement.