SIX members of Radcliffe Swimming Club took part in the North of England Winter Triathlon Championships in Preston, with the event consisting of a run, a swim and a pistol shoot.

The event began with the run and even though it was extremely cold at least it did not rain!

First off for Radcliffe was Laura Thomasson, taking part in a triathlon for the first ever time, with a strong run giving her a very credible fourth place.

Bethany Kinsler, in the under 12s class, also ran hard to finish seventh.

Competing in the under 14s class, Louis Szymanski finished second and Michael Thomasson tenth.

Lee Szymanski, fresh from his recent Bury Schools Cross Country win, finished fourth in a top class field.

The final Radcliffe representative was Leon Szymanski, running in the highly competitive Masters Mens class. But with another strong finish he too managed to claim second place.

It was then off to the warm swimming pool at West View where the six Radcliffe competitors produced some fine performances, with both Louis and Michael achieving personal bests in the 100m, and Lee gained a 'PB' in the 200m.

The final discipline of the day was the pistol shooting, and Laura Thomasson produced an exceptional performance, considering it was the first time she had entered such an event, to claim overall first place in the under 10s event.

Leon also shot a high score to finish fourth overall in the senior event.

There were also impressive finishes for the four other Radcliffe entrants: Louis Szymanski was first; Bethany Kinsler fifth; Lee Szymanski fifth; and Michael Thomasson seventh.

After a very promising start to the new season the Radcliffe competitors are now preparing for next month's National Triathlon Qualifiers.