A FORMER University of Chester student is packing a punch after landing a job with the GB Boxing Olympic programme.

Jessica Smith, 26, from Norwich, graduated with a masters in sport sciences last year.

Prior to her current role, Jessica worked at events with British Gymnastics, British Athletics and British Judo to gain experience.

In her first week at GB Boxing, Jessica supported the senior performance analyst Chris Connelly, a fellow Chester graduate, at the World Series of Boxing tournament in York Hall, London. She also recently attended her first international tournament in Poland.

Jessica said: “I believe my applied experience is what helped me to get this role.Right now I am in the early stages of my career, so I want to learn all the basics and do them well. From here, I can develop and establish myself as a practitioner working in the elite sport environment. I would love to travel with and support the team at major international tournaments.”

Jessica is employed by the English Institute of Sport (EIS), which is the country’s largest provider of sport science and medicine to elite sport, and worked with 93 per cent of the athletes that won a medal for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio.

To find out more about studying Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Chester, visit: https://www.chester.ac.uk/sport