Francesca Summers on Paris studies and evolving into a full-time Modern Pentathlete

The studies ended, it was au revoir to Paris and Francesca Summers is now adjusting to life as a full-time Modern Pentathlete.

The 22-year-old Sky Sports Scholar reveals how the pain and discipline of being an overseas fashion student has shaped her as a person in and out of the sporting arena......

"Since finishing my degree two months ago, I've dived back into training, which will be my focus for two years ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.

Easing into full-time training and building my strength means more kilometres for the run and swim, more time in the horse saddle, more getting sweaty in fencing kit and more shooting. Basically more fun and games!

Studying abroad and training alongside each other has shaped who I am today. If you are thinking about moving abroad to study, train or work, I say do it!

There's something about being in a foreign country which is great - the exploring, meeting amazing people and developing as a person. It's amazing how somewhere else can become so close to being your home.

My first and last few days in Paris were so different. I moved there aged 18 in 2014. I did not know anybody and it was intimidating and scary, especially when walking around the metro stations for hours trying to find my way out!

Then again, if I had never got lost then I would have never have found the massive 50m pool underground…in a metro station! That's where I swam alone for my three years in Paris.

I won't miss those days, motivating myself to train alone in a public pool filled with Parisians of all shapes and sizes! But when you have a goal, missing a session because you cannot be bothered is not an option.

I always wanted to go into sports fashion and had my sights on working for a huge sporting brand or swimsuit company. So the first step to working towards these dreams was study fashion.

It just turned out that Paris was a great place to fence and is one of the main cities for fashion, so it all planned out well.

My first few days at university though were a shock. I'm not joking when I say I had to re-do (and unpick) straight lines because I was told they were wonky.

The seam ripper (a small tool for ripping stitches) became my best friend very quickly! For weeks, I texted my mum saying "what am I doing here, this is not what I signed up for!"

Everyone shops and buys clothes and it's easy to say you want to design a range of clothes. So much goes on behind the scenes - you have to sew, understand fabrics and how the clothes are made to create clothes. I had no interest in sewing (and still don't) - I wanted to design and not undo stitches continuously!

But that is how you learn to do it perfectly, so you don't have to start over (like I did many many times). The same applies for sport. The harder you work, the easier it becomes.

It is definitely true - practice makes perfect. Four years later, after hundreds and thousands of hours of sewing and drawing, a collection made, a portfolio finished, blisters and pin holes in my fingers, my journey in Paris ended.

Over the years, my love for fashion design has grown so much. You still won't get me to make a dress, but I am slowly collecting ideas for a brand I want to create one day, while being now focused on training,

I wake up in the night with ideas or I am swimming or driving back from a riding lesson and my mind is planning and creating.

The lesson is you don't give up when you don't like something - you stick with it and shine in the things which interest you more.

Hoping I would not see a needle and thread for a while, I returned home to my house full of four sisters only to be greeted with 'could you be amazing and take these trousers in', 'can you shorten the straps, 'can you sew this button on'!

The sewing and fashion life in my last year of university meant I did not get a good training block. The next few months is all about getting stronger and doing the miles to be in the best form I can for the World Championship in September.

I will also focus on next season's World Cups and for the first Olympic qualifier in the summer which is the European Championships in Bath.

And so my days are back to running, swimming, shooting, fencing and horse riding.

I'm so happy and lucky not to be someone who has just finished university and stressed and worried about finding a job. I am so lucky to do something I love and truly am so passionate about.