Furness teen lands two gold medals for Team GB at World Mountain and Trail Running Championships

Ulverston Victoria High School student Jess Bailey has returned from Thailand as the new junior World Mountain Running champion.

Bailey and Rebecca Flaherty won gold and silver in the under-20 women’s up-and-downhill event on the final day at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai.

They finished one-two in the junior women’s race as they led Britain to team gold medals in the hot and humid conditions.

Jess Bailey on the podium. Credit: Jacob Adkin (Image: Jacob Adkin)

Flaherty led to the summit and alongside Bailey and Ellen Weir (Anne Hegvold, Hercules Wimbledon), they went through this section as a 1-2-3. However, Bailey was strong during the descent and overhauled Flaherty in the second half of the race. Ultimately, Bailey – who won 3000m track silver at the European U18 Championships in Jerusalem this summer – won by a comfortable margin of one minute 18 seconds to take her first world title.

Bailey, who runs for Leven Valley, clocked 26:27 in the 6.4km junior women’s race as runner-up Flaherty of Bingley Harriers ran 27:45.

Axelle Vicari of Italy was third with Weir ensuring Britain won team gold as she finished fourth with team-mate Emily Gibbins 18th. With a near perfect score of seven points it meant Britain easily won the team competition from Italy and France.

Bailey said afterwards, “The junior women’s team are absolutely hyper after that. I hung back a bit in the early stages and I followed Rebecca up the first bit of the hill. We were always talking to each other during the race. I can’t really believe that I have won. We thought the team could possibly win a medal, but we didn’t think a one-two-four could happen.”

“As a team, we’ve learned so much from this experience, so we are very grateful to be here and get a chance to show what we can do. This has literally been the best day ever.”

The win comes just months after Jess landed a silver medal for GB at European Athletics Championships in July.

READ MORE: Ulverston student lands silver medal for GB at European Athletics Championships

The teenager won the silver medal just days after completing her GCSE exams.

Richard Butler, assistant headteacher at UVHS, said: "Over the years we, as a school, have watched in awe as Jess has developed not just into an international athlete, but a world-beater, and we have simply run out of superlatives to express how proud we are of her.

"This double-gold on the world stage is simply incredible and is the results of hour upon hour of training every week, reflecting her immense dedication to athletics.  Not only is she an amazing athlete with the world literally now at her feet, but she is also an exceptional student here at UVHS Sixth Form.  From everyone at UVHS – “Well done Jess!”