Cumbrian athlete Tara Simpson-Sullivan has been in record-breaking form in the USA.

She produced an impressive performance at the Conference USA Indoor Championship.

Simpson-Sullivan, from Lowther, competed in the weight throw and her distance of 22.18 metres was a C-USA record.

It was also saw her go past the record she had already set at Rice University in Houston, Texas, where Simpson is studying.

It was the latest achievement in the athletics career of the 22-year-old, who became British hammer champion in 2021.

The Cumbrian said she was pleased with her success at the event in Birmingham, Alabama.

Speaking to student newspaper the Rice Thresher, she said: “I threw my furthest on my first throw, which is very unlike me, it was supposed to be a smooth easy first throw to secure first place.

“I’m happy to break my own Rice record, but I do hope to break it again before I graduate. The same goes for the C-USA record, however, there’s no chance to break that record again for me, as this was the last indoor conference [meet] in the C-USA.”

Simpson-Sullivan is a rising star in British throwing, having shone in her junior days in Cumbria when she won gold at the Northern Schools Inter-Counties, Cumbria Schools and Cumbria County Championships in 2014.

She is aiming to qualify for her first Olympic Games in Paris next year.