SHE had already surprised herself by winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal last week but now Jade Jones has done it again after taking bronze in the marathon.

The T54 wheelchair marathon began at 6.10am on Sunday morning as organisers looked to keep the racers out of the heat of the day but temperatures still hit 30 degrees by the end of their race.

That did not stop Jones, though, who has already shown she can perform in trying conditions as she won para-triathlon gold last week.

And she added to her medal collection by clocking 1:44.20 for the 26.2 mile course on Australia’s Gold Coast - finishing just 20 seconds behind home victor Madison de Rozario.

“I’m really tired now but it was a great race. It’s a nice flat course, which suits me pretty well, so I’m really happy with it,” said the 22-year-old from Middlesbrough.

"It’s tough conditions and by the end of the race it was getting pretty hot but I’m so glad we started as early as we did.

“The support on the course was amazing and it definitely takes the pain away.

“I wouldn’t have believed them if someone told me I’d get a gold and bronze here.

“I knew I could do well in the triathlon as that’s where all my training was focussed towards. I didn’t think I could win but I thought I could do well.

“To come away with the gold in that and then the bronze here is just amazing.

“It’s easily the best marathon I’ve ever done in my life and I think it was actually a personal best as well, so I’m really happy with it.”

Jones’ husband Callum Hall was also racing on Sunday, making his major event debut in the T54 men’s marathon and finishing seventh.

While in the able-bodied event North East duo Sonia Samuels and Alyson Dixon finished in fifth and sixth places, respectively.

Samuels stopped the clock in 2:36:59 while Dixon was 1:30 back on her compatriot who, after the race, confirmed the need to have a masochistic side to run a marathon in 30-degree heat.

“I thought my run was strong and I know a lot of people make a lot of my age, I’m 38, but I love getting out there and love hurting myself,” she said.

“So as long as I want to keep doing that, I’ll keep racing.

“I feel a bit disappointed because I thought that if I ran my best race I could challenge for a medal.”

“I wasn’t far away and the Kenyan was coming back to me but not quick enough.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for the conditions and the marathon distance that I didn’t quite cover the move that went off at 25-30km.

“But you make your decisions and you’ve got to live by them.”

Both racers now look set to be selected to represent Great Britain at this summer’s European Championships in Berlin.

n npower is the Official Partner of Team England and is giving our athletes the power of support by recording a brand new version of their anthem, Jerusalem. To listen to the track visit npower.com/teamengland