Spinning Jenna - VIDEO
IT says everything about Jenna Downing's chosen sport that she can be instantly recognisable in America but hardly given a second glance in this country.
It's even more ironic when you consider that she's a World Champion ... although few people in South Yorkshire would be aware of that, nor have any real idea of what her sport is all about.
Welcome to the all-action roller blading world of Extreme Inline Skating where tricks, stunts and spins on ramps are commonplace.
Jenna's pice de rsistance at the moment is a 900 degree spin which incorporates taking off from one ramp and performing two-and-a-half spins in the air before landing on the other side.
She's only the second woman in the world to have completed this trick which further emphasises Jenna's commitment and courage, particularly as she was quite badly injured while performing it two years ago.
A further attempt was delayed until last month when she finally decided to include it in her programme during an event in Brighton ... with stunning success.
Click here to see Jenna in action
"Everything happens so quickly," said 21-year-old Jenna. "You feel as if you're in a whirlwind and while you're up in the air you have to spot your landing otherwise you'll fall.
"I was still a bit nervous but it was a great feeling when I completed it. Hopefully I'll be able to do it everytime from now on."
Jenna, who has just graduated in law from Sheffield University, got her first inline skates when she was seven years old. Her mother took her down to a skate park and then to a roller disco. From then on there was no stopping her.
A year later she won the World Amateur Inline Championship series and at the age of 12 become the youngest female in the world to turn professional after she'd won her first European crown.
Jenna travels the world, with the emphasis on America, to compete in qualifying events for her ultimate goal, the World Championships.
In 2002 she grabbed silver at the World X Games (equivalent to the Olympics) and two years later was named as an Ambassador for the sport.
The following year she finished third in the World Championships and fought off competition from top urban sportsmen and women, including surfers, BMX riders and snowboarders, to clinch the UK Freesports Athlete of the Year award.
Two years ago Jenna edged ever closer to her dream of being the world's best when she took silver in Dallas and then last year she finally struck gold at the championships in Seattle.
"I felt as if I'd waited long enough! It really was a dream come true," she said.
The event has had to be shelved this year due to the economic climate but Barnsley-based Jenna is confident she'll definitely be defending her title in 2010.
Her sporting success has brought her into the public eye in some parts of Europe but most noticeably in America where she's done a lot of TV work and also appeared in commercials, music videos, and as a character in a video game.
Another claim to fame is as Holly Willoughby's stunt double in the film, Ministry of Mayhem and she's also appeared in Hollyoaks and Emmerdale.
"Extreme sports are very popular in America, so, with TV appearances and everything some people, particularly teenagers and children tend to know who I am. They ask for my autograph and have their picture taken with me but it's nothing like on the scale of footballers in this country," added Jenna.
In this country, however, it's much more a case of spreading the word about her sport and highlighting her projects with Sport England and the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, both of which involve working with young people.
Sport wise, her aim is to raise the profile and form a National Governing body. There's a definite interest in South Yorkshire but it's being stifled by a shortage of facilities - Jenna has to go to Liverpool to train at the huge indoor skate park which is one of the biggest in Europe.
But one thing's for certain, Jenna will end the year on a high as she's set to demonstrate her skill at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards in Sheffield in December. Now that should really have the audience in a spin.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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