British sisters take huge leap from small Ronda village to a podium finish in triple jump

Lily Hulland has this year graduated from her graphic design degree course while her younger sister Jasmine is months away from finishing her masters in space exploration and on the way to becoming an astronaut. The two sisters born in Malaga province to British parents couldn’t be further apart in their academic pursuits, but when it comes to sports, they’re both on the same track.

Lily, 22, and Jasmine, 21, both participated at the British Athletics Championships this year in the triple jump event, and not only that, both qualified for the final. Lily, the eldest by 15 months, came away with the bronze medal, but it’s as good as gold for the sister-duo in the eyes of their proud mother Emily.

"To have them both in the final was both unusual and impressive," she told SUR in English. "For all of us, it's been something that we’ve all done together for years and ultimately it’s incredible to see them at the highest level."

The girls' story in Spain started when their parents from Manchester, and regular tourists on the Costa del Sol, decided to move to Marbella, where they were then born. The family moved to Ronda and at the age of five, Lily started running which Jasmine also took an interest in shortly after. "There wasn’t even an athletics track in Ronda at that point and I’d constantly be driving them around to find places for them to train," Hulland said.

The sisters would run through parks, forests, any open expanse where they could sprint and bask in their love for athletics, until Lily started to suffer from asthma. Her breathing troubles led her to field events such as triple jump, and with Jasmine also making the leap, the pair branched off together and made a huge impact.

"This year Jasmine managed to jump her personal best of 12.51 metres which puts her in the top ten in the UK which is amazing," Hulland said. "Lily has always been a level above that where she’s won national medals but they both have different ambitions. Jasmine wants to be an astronaut and her academic goals are intense so it's all a balance of everything and what they can achieve."

Lily, who this week went off to pursue a sports scholarship at the University of Virginia in the United States, won the Indoor British Championships this year. She jumped 13.06 metres to become the women’s national British indoor triple jump champion and then bettered that with a 13.25-metre jump later this year to achieve her personal best.

"To see how far they’ve come from our little village in Ronda to these national titles and finals in the UK is so astonishing and makes me extremely proud," Hulland said. "My husband Tony passed away in 2009 and I know he would be extremely proud of Jasmine and Lily too."