Marilyn made some of her breakthrough performances while training at the University of Bath. She combined training with studying for a degree in French and Politics, graduating in 2007, and went on to establish herself as one of Britain’s top 800m runner at a highly competitive time for British women’s middle distance running.

Her achievements have included a bronze medal over 800m at the 2005 World University Games in Turkey and 4x400m relay bronzes at the 2007 World Championships and the 2010 Eurppean Championships.

She was selected as a member of the GB team at both the Beijing 2008 and the London 2012 Olympic Games.

She enjoyed her time in Bath, saying: “I’m proud to have graduated because it shows you can be an international athlete and get a degree. It was difficult at times, but everyone was so understanding and I’m really glad I’ve done it.

“My department was so understanding,” she added.  “I was so lucky to have been at Bath. I fell in love with Bath. The University was really good academically and the Sports Training Village is amazing, it became my second home.”

Career highlights:

Selected to represent England at Glasgow Commonwealth Games, 2014
Silver – 4x400m relay, European Indoor Championships, Paris, France, 2011
Bronze – 4x400m relay, European Championships, Barcelona, Spain, 2010
Silver – 4x400m relay, European Indoor Championships, Turin, Italy, 2009
Selected to represent TeamGB at the Beijing Olympic Games, China, 2008
Bronze – 4x400m relay, World Championships, Osaka, Japan, 2007