Paralympic triathlon medalist Melissa Reid is saving herself gruelling 600-mile round trips by training in the Eden Project’s Rainforest Biome.

Having won a bronze at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, the 28-year-old Cornwall-based athlete has her heart set on competing at the next summer games in Tokyo.

To prepare for the high heat and humidity of running, cycling and swimming in Japan, Melissa was facing the prospect of long drives to and from Loughborough University, Team GB’s Triathlon team centre, over the next year.

She then hit on the idea of asking Eden – home of the world’s biggest undercover rainforest and based just 25 miles from her home – if she could train in the Biome. Managers at the project said they would be happy to help.

By attaching her road bike to a turbo trainer, turning it into a static spinning bike,

Melissa represented Great Britain in the 2016 Paralympics bringing back a bronze medal for Team GB. In 2013, she won five international golds, including two World Championships.

Melissa’s International Triathlon Union Paratriathlon World Ranking went down from third place, following an injury in 2016, to 15th.  To qualify for the Tokyo games, she needs to be ranked tenth or higher before June 2020.