A SCHOOLGIRL whose life is blighted by asthma has become a national sports champion.

Kirsten O'Neill has spent much of her 11 years coping with the illness, and attacks have been so serious that she has been admitted to hospital several times struggling to breathe.

However three years ago, while in the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, Kirsten made a promise to become a gymnast. ''I had watched the Olympics and decided that one day I too would take the centre stage,'' she explains. ''It was only a dream that I would win a national competition. However, it's real now and I'm just so happy.''

Kirsten took first place in the Scottish Schools Gymnastics Competition, representing Jordanhill School with three fellow pupils. ''I couldn't believe it when I was chosen to represent the school but when they won first place I felt fantastic.''

She believes that her route to success lies in coping with asthma. ''You can either be frightened and not want to do anything in case you become ill, or you can decide to beat asthma,'' she said.

Her mum Karen said: ''Seeing your child gasping for breath can be terrifying. But the only way to survive that is not to let asthma rule your life. Kirsten takes asthma in her stride. She takes her nebuliser before each competition to make sure her lungs are up to the standard of normal ones.''

Her father, Stephen, said ''We are immensely proud of her. When she won, the look on her face was just a picture.''

q Cartoon characters including Bart Simpson, Tweety, and Casper have been recruited to combat the playground stigma of asthma for Britain's one million young sufferers. For generations, children who have used traditional inhalers have found themselves victims of teasing. Now ''street cred'' is to be restored with the launch this week of Puffa Pals - clip-on inhaler covers depicting favourite children's characters.

They are being launched by British firm Euromark, whose spokeswoman, Nancy Pugh, said yesterday: ''This simple idea could make all the difference to a child's willingness to carry an inhaler by offering a fun way of removing the stigma which is wrongly associated with asthma.'' The #3.99 covers proved a major success when they were launched in Australia last year.

q One common trigger for children's asthma is house-dust mites, or more specifically their droppings, according to the National Asthma Campaign. Other known triggers are virus infections, cigarette smoke, pollen, pets and exercise.

Asthma can be difficult to detect. A survey of 27,000 children aged between 12 and 14 showed that more than 3% had symptoms that had never been diagnosed.

Helpful tips include: vacuum bedrooms every day and use special barrier covers over pillows and mattresses; avoid vigorous outdoor play on summer afternoons; keep away from cats; avoid long grass and cigarette smoke; keep up a good intake of Vitamin C; take up swimming.