A former Herefordshire Cathedral School pupil, who nearly died after being struck down by Cushing’s disease in 2009, has become the fastest woman to cross the Atlantic solo.

Kiko Matthews, 36, rowed for up to 16 hours a day, sleeping in two-hour shifts to complete the journey from Gran Canaria to Barbados in just 49 days.

Ms Matthews said she wanted to ‘inspire women to challenge themselves.’

Current HCS pupils supported the record breaking challenge by raising

over £2,200 in their own rowing challenge. The girls rowed through the night on Saturday, January 13th to raise funds for Kiko, who wants to raise £100,000 for King’s College Hospital.

Kiko grew up in Hereford and her parents still live locally. Kiko’s father, Dr Matthews, was a popular Hereford GP who is now retired.