There were double celebrations this weekend for rising young talent Ellie and inspirational PE teacher Mrs Caroline Jones.

Ellie, a Year 9 pupil at Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls and one of her PE teachers, Mrs Caroline Jones, both won first place for their age group in Burnham-On-Sea’s Autumn Aquathlon held on Sunday, October 11.

The event, open to male and female contestants, attracted over 110 entrants from a variety of age groups and involved a swim followed by a beach run.

Ellie competed in the Girls 11 and Over category and completed the race in 6.55 minutes, beating her male counterpart by three seconds.

“I was down on the swim. It wasn’t my best performance, so I knew I had to have a good run,” She said.

“The sand  was very soft but I managed to keep going, put in a solid performance and overall I am happy with my time.”

Mrs Jones, who encouraged Ellie to take part in the annual event, completed her 750m swim and 7.5km run in a time of 36.33, over a minute ahead of the second place component.

“I was so surprised when I saw the time of my run, I couldn’t believe it – it was definitely one of my more confident ones,” She said.

Both Ellie and Caroline have an impressive history of sporting success with Ellie recently being called up for the Welsh Swimming Squad and also training with the Welsh Triathlon team, despite being a year young.

Mrs Jones has represented Great Britain in both the Triathlon and Aquathlon for her age group, winning gold in both disciplines.

She added: “I knew Ellie was a strong swimmer and in PE lessons it was obvious she could run well too, so I suggested she add a bike into the equation.

“She loves a challenge and got stuck in. She is such a strong athlete, I am positive she will continue to succeed both in the water and on land.”

Ellie has ‘unofficially’ been training with the Welsh Triathlon team, working hard on developing in the event. She is currently too young to compete for them, but with her 14th birthday only a matter of months away, the future looks very bright indeed for the young star.