AMPLEFORTH College student Clemmie Cooper has secured 20th place in the Under 19 Women’s Great British Modern Pentathlon rankings, placing her among the country’s best female modern pentathletes.

The competition consists of running, swimming, fencing and shooting, as well as equestrian.

All events take place on the same day and competitors score points for their performance in each event, with the winner gaining the highest score when all five events are complete.

Clemmie came up against particularly tough competition in the equestrian event where she competed against Olympians, but this did not deter her as she herself hopes to qualify for the Olympic squad one day.

She said: “My ultimate goal is to get to the Olympics to win gold for Team GB in the 2020 or 2024 Olympics.

“I am looking forward to the next ranking competition in a few weeks’ time and hope to improve on my last result. It can be difficult to juggle my school work and sports commitments, but I get such incredible support from Ampleforth’s games department, particularly my swimming teacher, Haydon Jones, who has helped me to improve in swimming which has always been my weakest discipline.

“My mum gives me a huge amount of support and without her dedication and ongoing support, I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

Clemmie is currently studying for her A-levels in art, history and English literature. This year she has been appointed as Ampleforth College’s sports monitor and she also captains both the cross country and the athletics teams.

Gemma Atkins, director of sport at Ampleforth College, said: “Clemmie has done exceptionally well and we are delighted to support her as she continues to excel in modern pentathlon.

“We have recently introduced a sports development plan for all students, which is designed to give an insight into the lifestyle and training of aspiring sportsmen and sportswomen and we hope that Clemmie’s success will inspire our younger students to develop their sporting talents.”