The woman who raced from obscurity to sporting stardom and a place at the Olympics in Sunday's London Marathon once hung up her trainers when she studied in Bradford

Fun-runner-turned-Olympian Tracey Morris had always enjoyed athletics as a youngster but says that when she arrived in Bradford in 1988 she discovered plenty of other things to do instead.

Tracey, 36, moved to the city from Wales to study to be a dispensing optician and contact lens practitioner at Bradford and Ilkley College.

She also studied at the University of Bradford.

She said: "I lived in the Shearbridge area and in halls. I wasn't really involved in athletics or sport at the university.

"I just enjoyed being in the city for about three years as a student away from home with my friends."

She moved to Headingley after qualifying and has lived in Leeds ever since.

She took part in a half-marathon when she was 30 and has been an amateur runner ever since.

But on Sunday she wowed the crowds and ran the London marathon in two hours 33 minutes 52 secs, winning automatic qualification to line up alongside the elite in Athens.

It was only her second outing at the gruelling 26.2 mile event - the first was a training run - and after just four months of serious training she finished ahead of any other British female athlete.

She said: "It is so bizarre. I just don't know what to think about the whole thing. I suppose I did it quite comfortably and I think I could go faster next time.

"I was just so nervous this time as it was the first marathon race I've done. I just kept hoping I wasn't going to trip up and make a fool of myself.

"Now I know I can run the distance, I will push myself a bit more."

"I have a really tough 14 weeks coming up with training so I'm just relaxing now and trying to believe all this is happening," she said.

The British Olympic Association confirmed her place on the Olympic team and has offered her a place at the Team GB training camp in Cyprus to help her acclimatise.

And the 7,500 US dollars (£4,000) she received as the first British woman past the post will also help.