TAVISTOCK athlete Sam Lake has won two European medals, within the space of a week.

Sam claimed a silver medal in the women’s 40-44 age group at the ETU Aquathlon Championships in Ibiza. She then backed that up by winning a bronze medal in the same age group at the ETU Middle Distance Triathlon Championships, which were held at the same place. She finished behind fellow Great Britain athletes Deborah Coyle and Beth Wilmot in the triathlon, which took place amidst torrential rain and a storm.

‘It began with floods, thunder and lightning – I’ve never been so scared to race,’ said Sam. ‘The officials decided to delay the start and cut the bike course short by one lap, which was good news for me!’

Despite huge waves for the swim, Sam was not only the fastest in her section, but also the second quickest woman in all the age group categories with 30.22 minutes for a 2km sea swim around an island. The cycling was tough, but Sam kept in contention with a time of 1 hour 32 minutes 31 seconds over a distance of 50km.

‘For the bike, the conditions were horrendous,’ said Sam. ‘There were many awful crashes and I was so cold.’

On the half marathon run, Sam finished in an impressive time of 1.32.12 to win bronze by more than two minutes.

‘I still can’t believe it,’ said Sam. ‘I am in total shock. I am over the moon with events this week.’

Sam is a member of Tavistock Swimming Club, where she is coached by her husband James, the head coach of the club. Due to James’ outstanding knowledge and expertise in swim coaching, he has developed a superb programme for distance swimmers at the club, which has enabled Sam to make excellent progress in her swimming endurance, clocking over a minute quicker in both recent events. The same can also be said for her recent move back to her home club of Tavistock Athletics, where she is currently being coached by Martin Exley-Deane. This move has also seen Sam drop her half marathon time, on the end of the triathlon, by more than three minutes.