The former school of Olympic gold medallist Kate French says she is an inspiration to pupils.

Kate, from Meopham near Gravesend, conquered the field with a dominant run in the final event of the modern pentathlon to earn gold in Tokyo earlier today.

The head of Cobham Hall, where Kate attended secondary school, was among the first to publicly congratulate her.

Kate attended Cobham Hall for the whole of her secondary education, leaving with excellent A-levels and attending Bath University to read Sports Performance.

"Kate has always shone brightly as an athlete and her determination and natural ability has enabled her to reach the highest levels in her chosen multidisciplinary sport," said headmistress Wendy Barrett.

She added: "Kate was a natural leader whilst at Cobham Hall, voted by the students to the position of Deputy Guardian, and was clearly an outstanding athlete.

"To witness her swim in the pool was a privilege and strangely enough Clifton House always won the swimming gala.

"Kate continues to inspire Cobham students and we are always delighted to welcome her back."

Former Cobham pupil Lilly Gibbs also congratulated Kate.

Lilly is training as a member of the British Triathlon team, alongside another Tokyo medal winner Alex Yee.

She said: "I couldn’t be happier to see Kate at another Olympics. She is such an incredibly talented athlete, a role model and a genuinely lovely person.

"Whilst being a sports scholar at Cobham, Kate’s journey and accomplishments have shown me what is possible with hard work, determination and a dream.

"As a fellow multidisciplinary athlete, I can only appreciate how much time and dedication it takes to be at your best and competitive at every discipline in your sport.

"However, Kate makes it look easy; not only has she found the way to juggle training for five sports, but she has also managed to excel in each one and has proved she is the best in the world."

Kent County Council chairman Ann Allen paid tribute to 30-year-old Kate, who won the event, which involves fencing, freestyle swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting and cross country running, with an Olympic-record points total of 1,385.

Millions of TV viewers saw her raise her arms in triumph as she crossed the finishing line 15 seconds ahead of the reigning Olympic champion in the final event.

Mrs Allen said: “It was a magnificent achievement. There have been some superb performances by many GB athletes and we should be proud of them all, but there is something special about seeing a girl from Kent stand in the middle of the podium, holding the Union Flag and receiving her gold medal.

“I congratulate Kate whole-heartedly.”

Kate is no newcomer to success in the event, having won two silver medals in the world championships in 2014, silver again in the individual event at the European championships in 2018 and 2019 and gold in the team event at the same championships in Bath in 2019.

Interviewed after her Tokyo success, she said: “I just knew I had to focus, and I knew I could do it if I focused on my shooting and ran as fast as I could.

“I tried not to think too much about getting a medal. I’m so pleased I was able to hold it together. It’s always been a dream and I can’t believe it’s come true.”

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