A STUDENT has been ranked 11th in the Baton Twirling World Championships after overcoming injury to compete.

Leeds Trinity University student Casey Hamill, 21, represented England in the Women’s Two Baton event, despite tearing two ligaments six weeks earlier and competing with a spinal fluid leak.

“I wasn’t really fit enough to compete, but it was something I had to do for my own piece of mind,” she said.

“ I’d been training for this all year and I didn’t want to give up, so I competed with my leg in a complete knee brace.

“I then found out after the competition that I’d been competing with a spinal fluid leak as well – which had occurred following a sinus infection prior to the tournament. I took an emergency flight home and spent five days in hospital.”

More than 1,200 women from 20 countries competed in the championships in Limoges, France.