Paul Snell from Weston has recently won the 65-69 age category in the sprint duathlon event in northern Spain.

WESTON Athletic Club’s Paul Snelling came first in the 65-69 age category in the sprint duathlon competition which took place in northern Spain.

His winning time of 1hr 7mins 12secs was nearly 10 minutes quicker than the second placed man from Canada. Athletes from across the world took part, including ones from Spain, USA, Australia and Canada.

The event took place on September 25 in Gijon, and race day conditions were perfect for the sprint race with dry roads and virtually no wind.

The course was a two-lap town centre course for the initial 5k run, one hilly lap of 19.2km for the bike and a 2.5km run to the finish line.

Local people lined the streets to support the many Spanish athletes but the Great Britain team supporters were everywhere and spurred the competitors on

Paul has been training for several years in preparation for this event and regularly competes in national running events and local cycling time trials.

At the presentation in Gijon, Paul was awarded the gold medal and crowned world champion for 2011.

Another Weston Athletic Club runner, Tracy Lewis, competed in the 50-54 age category, finishing 16th overall.