About me!!

"I have been involved in competitive sports all my life. The journey began when I was 6 years old and started to learn how to swim. From this young age I was involved in a whole variety of sports, but it was rugby and swimming that were the prominent two. It was not till I was 14 that I was faced with the cross roads of what sport I would focus on. Rugby was becoming more and more demanding and the time required in the swimming pool was increasing.

Swimming won my attention, and I began to excel very quickly and qualified for a catalogue of events each year at the British Swimming National Championships. The demands of swimming training had a positive effect on my cross country running, which I would do as "fun" at school. The aerobic base I created propelled me to the English Schools Cross Country Finals.

However, the turning point came when I was faced with my A levels. Studying started to become my main focus and inevitably, swimming came in second best. Before I went to university I decided to have a change in direction. I always loved running and really felt the enthusiasm to give athletics a go. For some reason I was drawn towards the 400m, and in my first year qualified for the National Under 23 Championships.

I went on to study Biomedical Sciences at Sheffield University and continued with the athletics

In my final year at Sheffield University a friend suggested that I should give triathlon a go as I have the background with the swimming and the running and cycling will come naturally: the seed was planted!

From that day, I began researching places to train and Loughborough came through as the place for me. I heard back that I was not successful from Medical School, which was a shock and still there was a part of me that wanted that place. I focused on masters course at Loughborough; applied, and was excepted on the Human Sciences Master of Research course. Once on the course, I moved to Loughborough and got involved in triathlon and have not looked back since.

Things have gone from strength to strength and the opportunities that have been presented to me have been life changing. Everyday presents its own unique challenge and the excitement of the prospect of improving is too addictive to miss.

I started triathlon 3 years a go and I have been an Elite Triathlete ever since. I race all round the world with the goal to improve my world ranking and, ultimately, become the best in world. Triathlon has shown me many ups and downs and it has taught me patience, perseverance and determination. At the moment, I am focusing on qualifying for the London 2012 Olympic Games. It is a childhood dream to win the elusive gold medal and I am prepared to do all that I can to make it a reality."