Para-athlete hopes medal will inspire her patients

Bebe Jackson said it was "crazy" to make her debut at the world championships

A para-athlete who works in the NHS said she wanted the people she cared for to feel inspired and know that "nothing can stop them".

Bebe Jackson, who lives in Stansted, Essex, works night shifts as a children's carer for the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust.

The 100m sprinter, 19, said it was "mind-boggling" to win a bronze medal on her debut at the IPC World Para Athletics Championships in Delhi, India, on Wednesday.

Referencing the children she cares for, Jackson told BBC Sport: "I try to tell their parents that no matter if they've got a disability, nothing can stop them."

She added: "They can carry on doing the things in their life they want to do."

Jackson grew up in Harlow and was born with congenital talipes equinovarus, commonly known as club foot.

She competes in the T44 classification, which is for athletes with a single below-knee amputation or impairment.

"Before coming out to Worlds, I was working my night shifts - It was very difficult to fit in with professional training," Jackson said.

"But I'm here and won my bronze medal, so yeah, I got through it."

'Crazy'

Five athletes entered the race that Jackson came third in; however, one withdrew through illness.

She said it had been "crazy" swapping a hospital setting, where she helps children with long-term health conditions and disabilities, for the world stage.

"I definitely try to bring my running and my disability to my work and show them it's going to be OK," Jackson added.

Also winning bronze on Wednesday was Chelmsford's Didi Okoh, who came third in the 100m classification for single-leg, above-the-knee amputees.

"I went into this race with a really calm attitude," she said. "I've had a really up and down season.

"I put my all on the track and I think, technically, I ran a really good race."