BROMSGROVE & REDDITCH Athletic Club ace Jo Frost produced a brilliant performance to win a gold medal in her first international competition for Great Britain when she competed in the World Masters Athletics Championships.
Frost, of Bromsgrove, headed to the event in Lyon, France, to make her bow in a GB vest in the over 35 women’s long jump and 100m and she leapt to glory in the long jump event in dramatic style.
First up, however, was the 100m in which 37-year-old Frost won her heat, before finishing third in the semi-final and seventh in the final.
This was a highly creditable performance but Frost revealed she was disappointed with her performances, which she felt were somewhat affected by the 40-degree heat – conditions she is not used to training in back home with B&R!
If Frost did have any regrets about the sprint event, she more than made amends in the long jump.
The competition was led from the start by Australia’s Melissa Foster with a jump of 5.72m, but Frost’s long jumping improved jump on jump to bring her into medal contention.
Then, with a personal best jump of 5.91m, she stole the lead. Not only did this leap give her the gold medal and the title of world champion, but it also broke the British Outdoor Masters record which has stood for 30 years.
Frost works full-time for Worcestershire County Council and works hard to fit training in and around a variety of commitments.
This endeavour started to be rewarded when she won both the 100m and long jump at the British Masters Championships earlier in the year.
These British Championship titles, along with her qualifying time and distance, led to her being awarded a much-coveted Great Britain vest to represent her country on the international stage for the first time at the World Masters Athletics Championships.
The adventure does not end there, however, and her next major focus is the European Masters Indoor Championships, which take place next spring in Ancona, Italy, where Frost hopes to compete in both the 60m and long jump.