A student from Monmouth who had never picked up a pair of Nordic skis before this week has clinched gold at the British Army Nordic Ski Championships in Serre Chevalier.

Officer Cadet Rob Hollis, 24, was part of the National Welsh team for .22 target shooting as a child.

This week he turned his hand to skiing as he joined team mates from the Oxford Universities' Officer Training Corps at Exercise Spartan Hike, the British Army Divisional Skiing Championships in the French Alps.

Two hundred and twenty six competitors went head to head in the Nordic races; comprising of a series of long distance cross-country events, testing the soldiers' stamina and ability to work both both as a team and individually in extreme weather conditions.

Rob, who was a pupil at Monmouth School and is now studying Sports Coaching and Nutrition at Oxford Brookes University, said: "I had never tried Nordic skiing before but as I have a bit of experience of Alpine skiing and shooting it seemed logical to combine the two and give the Biathlon a shot.

"I love being in the outdoors and keeping fit and this is a great way to do it. Nordic is definitely challenging but it's also enjoyable and the atmosphere is great; there's no better place to learn.