Tri-Force Juniors, St Albans' own triathlon club for kids aged between eight and 18 held their annual open race at Sandringham School.

With more than 200 young athletes registered, this was one of the club’s biggest events to date and was part of the Triathlon England East Region Junior series, as well as a qualifying event for the Inter Regional Championships, adding to the competitive nature of the field.

Head Coach Rav Dighe, who recently won the British Triathlon outstanding contribution award, said: "We want the children to challenge themselves, but at the same time have fun doing the sport.

"Triathlon builds confidence and life-long fitness.

"I’m very proud of our team for always striving to achieve their goals in this exciting sport. Our aim is to start these young athletes on a journey to enjoy a lifetime of swim, bike, run fun."

Dighe also runs monthly GoTri Duathlons in St Albans at the St Albans Cycle Hub, part of his day job as managing director of Aloha Tri.

These are run-bike-run events for beginners with different distances for adults and kids from six up.

Tri-Force Juniors boasts 70 young members with a waiting list that ever seems to end. The club is entirely run by parents, both in terms of the club committee and coaching team.