A TRIO of gold medals at a national athletics competition made for a dream weekend for a Brigham athlete.

Bethan Lishman clinched the medals in her first appearance in the prestigious British Masters Winter Championships at Lee Valley Indoor Stadium in London, triumphing in the shot put, hammer throw and discus.

Despite being nervous before the competition, Bethan put in a staggering performance to come away a triple champion against experienced athletes as as she showed what she was made of.

The shot put saw Bethan get off to a flying start and record a new personal best to settle the nerves before she came agonisingly close to breaking the competition record for the hammer throw, missing out by a metre and a half.

She then capped her stunning weekend by winning the discus, despite regarding it as her weakest discipline, to gain a haul of medals for her efforts.

Bethan, who has captained Great Britain’s athletics team in the Deaflympics, only entered the British Masters to gauge how successful her winter training had been but it far surpassed her expectations.

“I am buzzing, it’s the best performance I’ve had since I had spinal surgery in 2014,” she said.

“I’ve been smashing my training and I can’t believe that all the hard work has paid off.

“It was just incredible going against people who have done this for years.

“I was nervous on the first day actually said if I just got in the top eight I’d be happy.

“I cried because I really wanted the hammer record; that was the plan but it didn’t quite go as hoped.

“I didn’t think I was very good at discus but obviously I can’t be that bad at it.

“I can’t thank my coach Bob Halliwell or my personal trainer Gavin Graham enough.

Bethan, who works at Workington Leisure Centre, has been given a massive confidence boost with her success at the championships and is now gearing up to try to secure a place at the European Masters Athletics Championships in Venice in September.

“That’s the aim,” she said.

“I need to try and get the qualifying distance for that.

“That would be amazing.”

And she plans to compete in the British Masters Outdoor Championships later this year with more medals in her sights.

She added: “I can’t wait now, I just feel like: When’s the next one?”

Bethan has been an experienced competitor in the Deaflympics, flying the flag for Great Britain as a hammer thrower and becoming an established leader in the side over a number of years.

She also runs a gymnastics club in west Cumbria.