RIANNA Sterricks was crowned the Queen of her hometown in Peebles several years ago.

But her golden glory shone throughout the Scottish Borders last week after lifting the sprint trophy at the Jedburgh Border Games.

The 18-year-old former Beltane Queen ran to victory and was crowned champion of the 110 metres final, netting herself the trophy and £3,000.

The adage ‘a chip off the old block’ holds true for the Sterricks family as Rianna has followed in her father’s footsteps.

Mark Sterricks won the youths 200 metres as a young runner, and his passion and gift for the sport has been passed onto his daughter.

Rianna’s mother Michelle told us: “Her dad goes to all her runs to support her.

"Little did he know after winning that race as a youngster his daughter would one day go on to win the adult’s race.

“She is just so proud to win for Peebles.

"She loves the Borders Games and to win the Jed sprint which is such a prestigious prize is incredible.”

Peebles’ golden girl Rianna previously ran for Leithenburn, but for the past two years has been with Lasswade Athletics Club and is trained by coach Gordon Robertson.

As Rianna rocketed to the finish line, just squeezing out Hawick's Ryan Elliot, she was couldn’t believe she had won.

And when presented with her trophy on the podium, she laughed in disbelief at what she had just achieved and gasped - “it’s the Jedburgh Sprint!”

“It still hasn’t sunk in,” she told the Peeblesshire News. “I was speechless at the time and couldn’t believe I’d actually won it.

"It’s the biggest sprint on the Border circuit and is up there with the New Year Sprint so it is a massive achievement and one I will always remember.

“I’ve been training hard with my coach Gordon and working on perfecting the start of the race. Over the last two years I’ve been there I began to see an improvement with getting PBs on the track this year.”

Rianna has also trained with the athlete Ellie O’Hara and is coached by Linda Nicholson in Peebles.

“I’m so grateful to my coach Gordon for his support and confidence in me through the years and to Linda for inviting me along as a training partner, it’s been a massive help.”

But there is one person the Jed Forest champion says is her number one fan.

She added: “I’d like to thank my dad for being my top supporter, for taking me to training and all the meetings and for getting me into the sport in the first place.”

With a healthy sum of £3,000 in her back pocket, we asked Rianna what she planned to do with her winnings.

She said: “I am going to Stirling University to study Sport Studies so I am going to save the money for that.”

The Peebles teenager won’t be putting her feet up quite yet as she is competing in the St Ronan’s Games this weekend