FVS TRI S Gemma Sargent was on international duty at the Rimini ITU World Age Group Duathlon Championships in Italy. The race was a run/bike/run format over a seaside course of 11k/43k/5k which Gemma completed in 2-38:12 for 18th in the 25-29 age group. V

FVS TRI'S Gemma Sargent was on international duty at the Rimini ITU World Age Group Duathlon Championships in Italy.

The race was a run/bike/run format over a seaside course of 11k/43k/5k which Gemma completed in 2-38:12 for 18th in the 25-29 age group.

Veteran international age group athlete Richard Melvern was also on duty at Rimini but had to retire with illness after the first lap of the bike.

Brenda Bozwood Davies won the over-60 category in the Roade Triathlon in a time of 1-26:47, beating last year's age group winner by more than seven minutes.

Lynn and Richard Allen ran the Biddenham 10K River Run recording times of 51:09 and 41:15 respectively on a slow but picturesque multi-terrain course.

Ian Hobbs competed in the Eastern Cyclo-Cross League at Baldock and finished in 63rd position after a fast and furious one-hour event.

* Former North Herts athlete Samme Brough recently fulfilled an athletic dream by competing over her first ironman distance.

The Ironman UK triathlon championships were held around the beautiful grounds of Sherborne Castle, Dorset, consisting of a 2.4 mile open water swim, followed by a 112 mile bike leg, and finishing up with a 26.2 mile run.

Completing the ultimate triathlon endurance event in 13 hours and 22 minutes, Brough secured a bronze age group medal (women aged 18-24), finishing within the top half of the 1500 male dominated field.

With splits of 1-06 (swim), 7-30 (bike) and 4-22 (run), Brough said that she was "absolutely chuffed, especially with my marathon time given that is my first outing over that kind of distance".

The UK championships are one of several European events that have world championship qualifying slots up for grabs.

Having narrowly missed out on a slot this year, Brough will still be eligible for the same age group next year, where she hopes to secure both a gold medal, and a ticket to the world championships in Hawaii.

She added: "There a few occasions, mostly while I was on the bike, where I couldn't even locate the source of pain. But luckily there were so many more times when it was just the most awesome event. The atmosphere was electric - one isn't enough!