Brigham athlete Bethan Lishman has won three gold medals in the Northern Masters V35 – and now has the European championships in her sights.

Lishman managed to overcome nerves, intense heat, exhaustion from travelling and stiff competition to clinch her reward at Bury Athletic Club.

“I’ve never been so nervous in all my life. I wasn’t in a great place,” she said. “After travelling that far I thought I might as well give it a go.”

Lishman was not feeling herself, and believes some of the nerves came from seeing the competition that had travelled from around the country.

“My work load at the minute is really hard,” she added. “ And I’ve never done a northern masters.”

Ultimately she put on one of the best performances of her career, saying: “I actually ended up with the second-best throw I’ve ever done.”

Being partially deaf, Bethan has previously competed in the Deaflympics but this time she was competing in the able-bodied ranks.

Lishman dominated the competition winning gold in the shot put, hammer and discus. Her gold-medal-winning discus throw came in at 23 metres.

The competitive spirit and positive atmosphere amongst the athletes helped to distract her from the difficulty and she was able to put up a dominant performance.

She said: “It was just for me an absolutely great day out.”

Bethan has followed through with her plan to make a statement at the northern championships, announcing herself as a contender going into the Europeans. Having won six golds this season she said a potential European medal in September would be “the icing on the cake”.

She is now raising funds for the trip to Italy and supporters have 31 days left to donate so that she can take on the European Masters.

On Thursday she received a cheque for £100 from the Rotary Club of Workington.

Having paid for her entry into the championship as well as travel, she only has the hotel costs left to cover. After receiving her GB kit in the post yesterday, Lishman is excited for the next challenge.

As well as competing and training herself, she is also coaching the next generation of athletes.

She added: “I’ve got 20 gymnasts going to Berwick Upon Tweed on Sunday. I hope they win medals so that they can have that feeling I had on Sunday.”

To support Bethan on her journey to the European Masters, visit her Pledge Sport page at: https://www.pledgesports.org/projects/european-masters-athletics/