Cumbrian Tara Simpson-Sullivan has been described as one of the best athletes ever to compete for her university in America.

Simpson-Sullivan, from Lowther, has been named Conference USA female field athlete of the week.

It followed a starring performance at the Triton Invitational at UC San Diego.

That saw Olympics hopeful Simpson-Sullivan, 22, claim the hammer throw title with a season’s best of 64.52m.

That puts her first in Conference USA, first in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and 11th in the overall NCAA.

Simpson-Sullivan attends Rice University in Houston, Texas, where coaches are hugely impressed with the Cumbrian.

"Tara is an awesome competitor, an awesome leader, an awesome student and an awesome teammate," women's track and field head coach Jim Bevan told Rice Owls.

"Tara is one of the best we've ever had at Rice."

Simpson-Sullivan, who became British hammer champion in 2021, is hoping to qualify for next summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.