AN athlete celebrated success after she took home the gold medal at an international sporting event.

Vicki Finn Smith, of Newton Aycliffe, travelled to northern France last week for the CrossFit French Throwdown.

The competition saw the 35-year-old scoop the win after she took part in several events including a100m uphill sprint – which saw her cross the finish line in 16.1 seconds.

She said: “I never thought I would end up on the podium let alone take first place.

"This is an event I've always wanted to do and the support has been overwhelming.”

After three days of tough competition, Mrs Finn Smith started to feel pain in her calf which was aggravated by running and jumping.

With only one event left involving a 400m sprint and dumbbell exercises, she knew she would have to dig deep to win the competition.

She finished with a time of 3.54 minutes which landed her in second place – enough to maintain her lead and win the French throwdown masters.

The sporting star is now looking forward to the CrossFit Open which will be held later this year with events taking place across the world.

Every year hundreds of thousands of 'Crossfitters' of all different ages participate in The CrossFit Open, which is the starting point for anyone wanting to qualify and compete at The CrossFit Games.

Mrs Finn Smith has been training at CrossFit All Out, in Newton Aycliffe, for about three years.

Head coach Terry Anderson said: “Vicki is extremely committed to her sport, even quitting her job in order to be able to train twice a day, six days a week.

"At 32 she began her CrossFit journey, taking time to learn each movement like any new beginner and practise them religiously.

"Her husband and coach, Stewart Smith, is her biggest support, helping ensure that she gets the right training, nutrition and recovery she needs in order to excel at CrossFit.

"Vicki’s work ethic is outstanding and it is clear that she has a very bright future ahead of her as she continues to compete in the master’s category.

"We are very proud to have her as a coach.”

The CrossFit All Out club runs sessions for all ages and abilities.

For more information visit @alloutcrossfit on Facebook, call 07788-123321 or visit crossfitallout.co.uk