Thetford Athletic Club runner Jess Norkett shines on England debut at Wales Under-20 International event

A campaign to remember has got even better for Thetford Athletic Club’s Jess Norkett.

Already this season the Thetford-raised athlete has won the 800m title at the South of England Championships in a personal best time of two minutes and eight seconds.

Norkett – a member of Thetford AC since the age of nine – was also one of the youngest competitors at this year’s British University Championships, while she came sixth in the 1,500m at the Under-20 National Championships.

The former Thetford Academy and Thetford Grammar School pupil also achieved the qualifying time for the 800m at the Senior National Championships and narrowly missed out on the final by just 0.1 second alongside being selected for the England Athletics Junior Talent programme, which is part of the England Athletics Performance Pathway.

And now the 19-year-old has followed all of that success up by winning the 800m on her England debut at the Welsh Under-20 International event in Swansea.

Up against runners from the hosting country as well as Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Norkett came out on top in what turned out to be a very tactical race to earn maximum points for her country.

She stopped the clock in a time of two minutes and 11.17 seconds, just three seconds shy of her personal best.

Norkett’s England team-mate Lucy Scothern finished in second spot in a time of 2.11.23 seconds, followed in third by Team Scotland’s Katie Johnson (2.12.24).

And for good measure Norkett, who is currently studying at Loughborough University, then joined the 4x400m England relay team, helping them to add more points to the squad’s overall total with a third-placed finish.

Those two performances from Norkett helped England to win the team competition ahead of their rivals.