THERE was further end-of-year glory for Witham athletics ace Jess Hopkins as the talented youngster claimed pentathlon gold at the South of England Combined Indoor Championships.

The 14-year-old Maltings Academy pupil was competing at Lee Valley on the back of claiming individual silver for England at the Home Counties International in Ireland the weekend before.

And her Southern success was even more impressive as it was her first time competing at under-17s level against multi-sports athletes who were several years older than her.

Despite it being her first performance in the more senior age group, Hopkins showed she meant business from the start.

She said: "I had a fantastic start to the day with a new personal best in the (60 metre) hurdles of 9.17 seconds.

"Next was the high jump, where I jumped 1.60 metres and was very close to 1.63 metres, before the shot putt where I threw a distance of 12.51 metres.

"I was very happy with that because I'm getting a lot more consistent.

"In the long jump, I jumped 5.06 metres, which was slightly further than what I jumped at the previous competition in Ireland so I was quite pleased.

"Finally I ran the 800m in two minutes 45 seconds.

"It was very close between me and the girl who came second, with only 21 points between us after the 800m, but I managed to take the gold."

Hopkins, who has finished the year second in the UK under-15s pentathlon rankings, said the experience of going up against older athletes would stand her in good stead for next year.

She said: "It was a great experience to compete against others who were older than me and I'm very excited for next year.

"Once again, my coaches Steve Mitchell and Sarah Besford, came along to coach me for the day which always gives me a huge relief knowing they are there to get me through the day maximising my potential.

"After the weekend before I was aching in places from my international competition, but my sports therapist, Mark Benterman, arranged for me to visit him and he sorted my muscles out.

"Many thanks to him for that."