A LECTURER from St Martin's College will be taking on some of the world's best athletes on the sun-soaked island of Madeira this weekend.

Louise Rose, a lecturer in sports and exercise science, flew out to the holiday island on Monday as a member of is the Great Britain triathlon team for the first time.

She will compete in the 35-39 year old category in the World Age Group Triathlon Championships on Saturday.

Triathlon is made up of three sections completed one after the other - a 1.5km swim followed by a 40km bike race and a 10km run - making it one of the most challenging events in athletics.

Louise, who lives at Warton, near Carnforth, qualified last year and has received sponsorship from St Martin's to help cover her training costs.

She says: "I was really pleased when I found out I had been chosen but its all come around quite quickly so now I'm a bit nervous."

She has been taking part in triathlons for 15 years and has consistently done well at regional events. Last year was the first female finisher at the Cockerham Triathlon, one of several local events she has won.

But it was an excellent performance at Salford Quays last July that finally saw her included in the British team.

She says: "I'm really pleased to have been selected to represent Great Britain and I'm proud to taking part in such a prestigious event. It's not every day you get to compete in a World Championship so I'm really looking forward to it!"

Louise has been able to use her professional expertise as a sports psychologist in her preparation and has also been helped by testing at the St Martin's College human performance unit to enable anyone to maximise her physical fitness.