Since then, she contracted a serious bacterial infection in her foot, missed the London Olympics where she would've been a favorite and spent many a grueling training session figuring out how to jump again off her repaired ankle, wondering if she would ever recover enough to be among the world's best.

WSJ: Foot healed, Blanka Vlasic will return at NY meet

His years of training were evident as he skillfully handled the jump rope.

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Shadow education minister Karen Buck said the figures showed a jump of 100, 000 young people not in education, employment or training since the 2010 General Election and that the government was allowing the talents of too many young people to go to waste.

BBC: One in six young people not in education

In a letter home after her first parachute jump, she explained why she never let her parents visit her during her four years in pilot training.

BBC: China's female astronaut quandary