A TALENTED athlete from Bridgwater has won gold in the girls' 1500m steeplechase at the School Games National Finals at Loughborough University.

Elise Thorner, a Millfield School student from Bridgwater, was competing as part of the England Midlands team, taking home the title in a time of 5mins 8secs.

Following the race, Elise said: "I really wanted the win, and I wasn’t so bothered about the time as it’s near the end of the season.

"I had to dig deep down the home straight. I used to do 800m, so this is a new event for me – it’s gone better than I could ever have imagined.

“The School Games have been great – the athletics has been amazing and so well supported.”

The School Games are an integrated multi-sport event for the UK’s most talented school-age athletes, with around 1,600 athletes competing across 12 sports, seven of which included disability disciplines.

Previous competitors include Paralympic champions Hannah Cockroft, Ellie Simmonds and Jonnie Peacock, Olympic champion Adam Peaty, and GB sprinters Adam Gemili and Dina Asher-Smith.

The School Games can act as a springboard for future athletes with 56 of the 382 athletes representing Team GB at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio having competed at the School Games.

The four-day event is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust.