A refugee from Cameroon is producing some standout performances for Gloucester Athletic Club this season.

Pauline Ngouopou is a very good triple jumper, so good in fact that if she was able to compete for the UK she would be ranked number three in this country.

“She jumped 13.39 metres for the club in Nottingham last month,” said Gloucester coach Jo Willoughby. “The British Championships were held the day before in Manchester and the women’s triple jump was won in 13.56. The second best jump was 13.40 which was just one centimetre better than Pauline.”

The 24-year-old came over to this country in Autumn last year. She is living in a hostel in Gloucester and was introduced to Gloucester Athletic Club by Tiffany Cairns, an NHS nurse.

“She came to us more or less straight away,” said Willoughby. “When she started training with us she was actually a better long jumper than triple jumper but she has improved her triple jumping massively.”

She certainly has, so much so that she is targeting a place at the Olympic Games in the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.

Paris 2024 will almost certainly come too soon – the qualifying distance for the women’s triple jump is 14.55 – but Willoughby believes Pauline could be jumping around 14 metres next year.

Pauline, who has a best of 6.32 in the long jump, has certainly made an impression at Gloucester AC.

“She’s French-speaking but she’s been having English lessons, her English is getting better,” said Willoughby.

“She’s really smiley, she’s got a lovely personality. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for her to leave her family, she’s got lots of brothers and sisters.

“She is hoping to be here long-term, she is seeking asylum.”

Pauline hasn’t got a job at the moment but Gloucester AC are doing everything they can to support her.

“The club pay her entry fee for competitions, they’ve given her free membership and they also pay for her gym membership,” said Willoughby.

Pauline, who will be eligible to represent Gloucestershire next year, has been an athlete for 10 years.

“She started at the age of 14, nobody else in her family had ever done athletics,” said Willoughby. 

“She used to train with the National Institute of Youth and Sport in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon.

“She competed in Cameroon on the World Athletics Continental Tour and she’s ambitious.

“As well as the Olympics she wants to compete in the world championships.”

All resettlement schemes in Gloucestershire are overseen by the Strategic Migration Partnership, made up of representatives from many of the county’s public sector organisations.

The partnership, which includes Gloucestershire County Council and the NHS in Gloucestershire, works with local charities and aid workers to establish local support as refugees and asylum seekers navigate their way to a safer environment to live in.

The partnership makes sure refugees and asylum seekers get access to medical treatment, emotional support and practical help, such as housing and clothes.

Gloucestershire Action for Refugees and Asylum Seekers (GARAS) is a key partner; for more information, visit www.garas.org.uk