YORK soldier Sonia Hurst is manouevring her way to a Mexican wave.

The swimming specialist at the Army School of Physical Training based in Aldershot, has surged into the World Triathlon Championships in which she will represent Great Britain in the Mexican resort of Cancun next year.

However, Copmanthorpe's Hurst endured some of the worst conditions she has ever encountered.

"The coldest ten minutes of my life," was how Sergeant Hurst described her 750-metre swim across an open lake, situated in the grounds of the Army Training Regiment, in Bassingbourn, Herts.

The swim was the first stage of the Army Triathlon Sprint Championships in which she took 2nd place in the women's race and 20th place overall in a field of 104 competitors.

She completed the swim, 20kilometre cycle ride and 5km run in just 1 hour 10 minutes and 9 seconds.

"It was a tough start - the water was freezing. It took your breath away when you plunged into it, but I just concentrated on my swimming technique and getting out as fast as I could," she said.

"Although I was a little disappointed that I missed out on first place it was good training."

Ninth in this year's Triathlon World Championships in Edmunton, Canada, she automatically qualified for next year's event.

Training twice a day, sometimes three times a day, up to 22 hours a week, she admitted it can be difficult to keep motivated: "But when the starter gun goes and the adrenaline starts pumping all the work is worth it."

Sport has always figured large in Hurst's life.

She said: "I was competing in triathlons before I joined the Army eight years ago. My mum, Yvonne, swam for Lancashire and my dad, Gerald, played Rugby Union.

"I used to swim and run at the Barbican Leisure Centre in York. It was during that time somebody suggested I race in a triathlon. I surprised even myself when I won."

Her aim now is to reach peak fitness for those World Championships next year.

Updated: 12:11 Saturday, September 29, 2001