A RYEDALE policeman is set to represent the country in two European triathlon championships - both of which he qualified for in the same weekend.

Geoff Wynn, a police community support officer covering Malton and Norton, will race in the age group sprint distance triathlon European championships both this year, in Scotland, and next year, in Russia.

The 36-year-old said that qualification for both took place over a single weekend in late May.

He qualified for this year’s championship, to be held at Strathclyde in Glasgow on Saturday, August 11, by doing a triathlon in Nottingham.

Just two days later he was racing again - this time in a triathlon in Southport on Merseyside - and managed to qualify for next year’s championship to be held in Kazam, on the Volga river in central Russia.

“Everything just seemed to go right,” he said.

The event itself is a sprint triathlon and entails a 750 metre swim, followed by a 20 kilometre cycle and finally a five kilometre run.

Geoff said that he is aiming to complete the event in about one hour seven minutes.

He is one of a team of 20 GB athletes who will be competing within the 35 to 39-year-olds category.

However, he said the recent heatwaves and drought made training “horrible”.

“You have to go out very early or very late,” he said, but added that swim training in Allerthorpe lakes near York was “beautiful”.

Geoff added that he wanted to thank York Triathlon Club, of which he is a member, and Big Bear Bikes of Pickering, which is providing support during his championship attempts.

Geoff is a seasoned triathlete, having completed half-Ironman and Ironman events across the UK and in Europe, and has raised money for charities such as Scope.