A health care assistant (HCA) based at Hinchingbrooke Hospital has come back from injury to win a gold medal at the British Duathlon Championships.

Jess Williams became British Duathlon Champion on March 25 after competing in the Bedford Autodrome Duathlon. She has already qualified for the European Duathlon Championships, which take place in Ibiza, in October, and the World Duathlon Championships taking place in Denmark, in July.

A duathlon involves running 10km, cycling 40km and then completing a final 5km run.

Having been the 2016 British Duathlon silver medallist, Jess was disappointed to have been struck by injury in the lead up to the 2017 competition and subsequently found she was unable to take part.

Undeterred, she continued to train once she had recovered and the recent win is proof of her sheer determination and hard work.

Jess said: “I’m really proud of my achievement in winning the British Championships; it was my first goal for 2018. Winning the gold has set me in really good stead for working towards the World Championship title in July”.

Assistant director of nursing at the North West Anglia NHS Trust, which runs Hinchingrbooke Hospital, Ivan Graham, said: “Jess is a great example of the fantastic people we have working within our trust. The dedication and commitment involved in winning a gold medal at the British Championships, alongside working full time delivering high quality care to our patients, should not be understated.

“We’re incredibly proud of Jess’ achievements and we look forward to hearing her news from the European and world championships later this year.”

INFO: Jess is having to fund the cost of competing herself and if you would like to sponsor her, go to: Go Fund Me: jess039s-quest-forduatholon-gold.