Jessica Varnish’s first performance at senior level was at the World Track Championships in Manchester in 2008. It was quite a step up for the then 17-year old, whose only previous experience of a World Championship was at junior level.
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Being called up to the senior squad was a remarkable achievement in itself in only her second year as a junior on the Olympic Development Programme. Varnish gained invaluable experience in Manchester and used it to her advantage at the European Track Championships in Poland.
Varnish won both the junior Keirin and the 500m, prompting some to suggest that she could well be a successor to Victoria Pendleton. Varnish again impressed at the Manchester World Cup in 2008; pairing up with Anna Blyth in the team sprint, the Worcestershire rider helped Great Britain to an unexpected gold medal in the discipline.
In February 2012, Pendleton and Varnish set a new world record for the women's team sprint on their way to winning the event in the London round of the 2011-12 Track World Cup. Despite this feat, only half of it was matched at the London Olympics later in the year, as although the duo broke the record again in qualifying, they were knocked out in the semi-finals.
Jessica Varnish results
2013
National Track Champion; 500m tt
National Track Champion; team sprint
2012
Track World Cup, London, team sprint (with Victoria Pendleton)
Track World Cup, Glasgow; team sprint (with Becky James)
2011
National champion, 500m TT
National champion, team sprint (with Victoria Pendleton)
European champion, team sprint (with Victoria Pendleton)
2010
Track World Cup, Cali, team sprint
2009
National champion, team sprint
2008
Track World Cup, Manchester, team sprint gold
Jessica Varnish photos
Click on the thumbnails of Jess Varnish below to open a larger image in a new window.
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