A team of female skydivers went Down Under for the world championships and returned home with gold medals.

The team of four, which included local jumpers Sacha Chilton, from Tackley, and Claire Jenkinson, from Lower Heyford, captured the Women's Cup in the four-way event.

Each of the four jumpers had to perform as many formations as possible in 35 seconds and they beat teams from Australia and Sweden to be crowned world champions.

About 20 parachutists represented Great Britain at the world championships which were held near Melbourne, but the women's team was the only one to win gold. The skydivers had to fork out about £3,000 of their own money to cover the cost of the trip Down Under.

But 26-year-old Claire said it was definitely worth it. She said: "The British team hasn't won a gold medal at the world championships in a few years so it's great that we have done it."

Claire, a sales representative, and a veteran of more than 1,000 jumps said it was difficult combining work with skydiving. "It's tough, but when you come back with a gold medal you know it's all been worthwhile," she said.

Claire and Sacha, who works as a chef in London, are members of the RAF Sport Parachute Association, and train at Weston-on-the-Green, near Bicester.

Story date: Thursday 04 November

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