WIRRAL student Jodie Myers won judo silver at the Commonwealth Games – only weeks after returning to the mat following an arm injury.

The 19-year-old from New Brighton sustained a ligament injury in her right arm earlier in the year and initially she was disappointed at not claiming the gold medal in the female judo 78kg category.

But she quickly rallied and later conceded: "I've had time to reflect and I did really well and I'm happy with what I achieved."

She is now back in training with the British Judo Centre of Excellence at the University of Walsall Campus.

Jodie was overwhelmed by the atmosphere at the Glasgow games.

She said: "The atmosphere at Glasgow was amazing – it was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The arena was packed and every time I came out there was a massive cheer and the support was amazing.

"Some of my family had never seen me compete before so a lot of them were crying because they were so proud.

"I am going to aim towards competing at the Rio Olympics in 2016 but Tokyo is a more realistic aim for me."

Jodie, is going into her second year of a BA (Hons) Event and Venue Management degree at the University’s Walsall Campus in October.

Her Judo career really started to take off at the same time as she started at the University, and she admits she found juggling the two difficult at first.

She acknowledged the support she has received from British Judo and the University.

She said: "It has been a massive step but I've had a performance lifestyle advisor provided by British Judo who has been really helpful with my work.

"The University also gave me a scholarship of £1,000 to buy new kit and to attend the British Open this year."

Jodie, who started Judo when she was 11 and has been competing since she was 14, was full of praise for the British Judo Centre of Excellence at the Walsall Campus, where she is currently training for her next competition – the Junior European Championship in Romania in September.

She said: "It is brilliant – everything about the centre is about our success.

"All the facilities are great and we have the support of a nutritionist, a physio, coaches and even a video analysis advisor.

"Everyone who trains here is on the right path to go forward and the atmosphere we train in is amazing."