A JERSEY triathlete is representing Great Britain in the 2008 Half Ironman World Championships this weekend.

Matt Gambles (41), of St Ouen, competed in the triathlon at the Island Games in Rhodes and is now travelling to Florida to test his strength against a field of 1,800 of the world’s fittest men and women.
He is competing in the Foster Grant Ironman World Championship 70.3, which is the final of the World 70.3 Ironman series, when a world champion will be crowned.

Mr Gambles, wealth management director at Royal Bank of Canada, will be taking part in the 40-44 age category. At each event, participants are required to undertake a 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride and a 13.1-mile run, covering a total distance of 70.3 miles – hence the 70.3 name.

Mr Gambles said: ‘Now I have got over the shock at qualifying for the worlds in only my second attempt at this longer distance race, I am really looking forward to the competition. I took up triathlon four years ago after significant peer pressure from my Australian cousin, who is a professional triathlete, and to try a new sport where you can still be competitive at any age.

‘Being able to race at these world championships will be especially exciting as my cousin, Joe Gambles, is the current European champion at this distance and is highly tipped to become overall world champion. This means I have got loads of additional family support from around the world at the race as well as my wife and children, who have promised to wave the Jersey flag.’

The race will start and finish at Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach, Florida, on Saturday with age-group competitors and professionals racing alongside each other to compete for the overall world title. A prize of $100,000 will be on offer.

To qualify for the final, slots were awarded for the top two to ten performing athletes, dependant on the size of the field, in each age group class and for the professionals in each of the 31 qualifiers that were hosted by nations worldwide.

To make it through to the final, Mr Gambles qualified at the Monaco Ironman 70.3 in September after swimming in the Mediterranean, cycling in the mountains of France and running the Monaco Grand Prix circuit. In addition to being the second Briton to finish in the Monaco event, Mr Gambles finished in second place in his age category at the London Triathlon, a traditional-length triathlon race, beating more than 800 participants.