HOLLY Neill has risen to sixth in the IPC World Rankings following fantastic performances in the IWAS Junior World Games in Dubai and the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.

The talented athlete, who lives in Chantmarle near Dorchester and suffers from dwarfism, picked up gold and silver in Dubai before following it up with a fourth-placed finish at the Manchester Regional Arena where she came up against Tunisian world record holder Raoua Tlili.

Speaking to Echosport, Neill said: “I took part in the IWAS Junior World Games in 2010 when it was held in the Czech Republic and came back with a gold medal in the shot put and a bronze in the discus so I was keen to do even better in Dubai.

“In particular, I wanted to retain my title in the shot and I was delighted when I did exactly that with a throw of 6.68m.

“I also claimed silver in the discus (18.62m) and got the chance to visit the tallest tower in the world, so all in all it was a great experience.

“Channel 4 also accompanied the British team on the trip and they will be featuring four athletes with dwarfism, one of which is myself, in a documentary, which is scheduled to be broadcast later this year.”

Neill went on to add: “I have also just got back from competing in the Paralympic World Cup, which was my first major competition at senior level.

“I was competing in the shot where I was up against the world record holder and I ended up finishing fourth with a personal best of 7.09m.

“I was delighted with that result and the fact I have also risen to sixth in the IPC world rankings is fantastic.”