Jess

Jess Warner Judd does not remember much about that night in Rome.

It has been a long and difficult journey since, but the 31-year-old speaks with admirable ease about the traumatic events which have led her to a London Marathon debut in 2026.

“I’m very lucky to have had sort of a second chance at running. It’s a second chance I just didn’t think I’d probably have,” Warner Judd tells BBC Sport.

“I remember having really horrible discussions after trying to restart my track season and it quickly not happening. The doctors, who were brilliant, saying that I would probably have to retire if I kept trying before I had therapy, because my body wasn’t going to cope.”

The distressing details of what unfolded at Stadio Olimpico are recalled vividly by her husband Rob, who witnessed it all from the stands alongside Warner Judd’s father and coach, Mike, in June 2024.

Less than 10 months had passed since Warner Judd celebrated one of her proudest achievements, placing eighth in the world over 10,000m, but it became evident early in the European Championship final that something was amiss.

The noticeable lack of co-ordination. The veering out into lanes two and three. The distress increasingly visible across her face.

“It got to the point around five or six kilometres in when Mike and I had got as close as we could to the track and were shouting at her to stop,” says Rob.

Warner Judd struggled on until, with 600m to go, she collapsed.

JESS Impiazzi has revealed her devastating battle with lupus amid her pregnancy.

The Ex on the Beach star has opened up about the reality of having the condition as she loses her hair and suffers with skin rashes all over her body.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack its own healthy tissue.

It can lead to inflammation and even organ damage.

Opening up about her ordeal, Jess said: “These rashes were quickly appearing all over my body.

“If my joints swelling and having arthritis wasn’t bad enough, alongside other invisible symptoms, the visible ones were chipping away at my confidence.

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“Then on top of all that my hair started to fall out. I’d say I lost nearly 50-60% of my hair.

“The daily stress and anxiety of everything kept my lupus active and I’ve honestly never felt so lost and I didn’t know who I was anymore.”

She added: “I was taking steroids to keep my immune system from attacking me and trying different meds to find the ones that worked for me, I’d have the odd day where I felt OK, and pushed myself to try and keep up with commitments.

“But the truth was I was in pain, I was scared and didn’t know how to carry on like this.

“I had to find a new way of living and researched everything I could on lupus, I find some really interesting people online who had got their lupus in remission so I decided to try things out.

“One of those things was getting my nervous system regulated after many years of it not being.”

The star, 36, is expecting her first child with partner Sam Bird, 39, later this year, after a fertility journey.

Jess is due to give birth to her little one in May, after revealing her baby news at the beginning of the year.

The star has been dating her partner Sam since summer of 2024 after splitting from her footballer ex boyfriend, Jermaine Pennant.