Eva Osborne and Anne Martin, from Wymondham Athletics Club, returned from Clermont-Ferrand in the south of France with handfuls of medals from the World Veterans' Championships.

Eva Osborne and Anne Martin, from Wymondham Athletics Club, returned from Clermont-Ferrand in the south of France with handfuls of medals from the World Veterans' Championships.

Eva competed in the 65/over category and returned with an individual bronze medal for the 1500 metres, a team gold in the cross-country and a team silver from the 4x200 metre relay.

Anne competed in the over-70s category and brought home individual gold medals for the long jump and triple jump, two team gold medals, a bronze in the 800m and other medals for the cross-country and half-marathon.

It is only the third time the championships have been held and Eva has competed at all three, starting in Germany in 2004 and then in Austria two years ago.

This year's preparations were hampered by illness though, as she explained: “I did a lot of local cross-country events to prepare for speed and stamina, but unfortunately I picked up a chest infection about three weeks before.”

The problems further heighten the level of Eva's achievements, and added to her delight. “Considering it was the World Championships and I didn't do the last three weeks of training because of the chest infection, I was very happy,” she said. “I would have liked to have been a bit faster but, yes, I was happy overall.

“It was very enjoyable - you get to make one or two friends and it's still very competitive but there's a nice camaraderie there. We all still like to stay active so it's a nice atmosphere.”

Unfortunately for Anne and Eva, the weather in the South of France proved no better than it was in England, as Eva explained: “The facilities were very good but the weather was appalling, a bit like it was here really.

“Snow, sleet then sun, very mixed especially when Anne ran her cross- country, it was extremely heavy snowfall.”

Eva praised her Wymondham team-mate's success, saying: “Anne did exceptionally well. The special thing about her is that she competes in a variety of events. Most people just do one event but she does it all.”

Eva followed up her success on the continent with a medal at the British Masters Cross-Country at Banbury in challenging conditions. She explained: “It was sticky, slimy mud and there were lots of lost shoes. It was also very windy.”