Seventeen-year-old student Mark Richardson, from Woodham, recently made his debut for Great Britain in the World Tour Biathlon Series in Marina di Grosseto near Rome, Italy.

The event was a tri-nation competition with British athletes up against competitors from Germany and the hosts, Italy.

Mark, who has just taken his AS Level exams in Biology, Geography, General Studies, History and Maths at Darlington's QE Sixth Form College, finished sixth overall in a field of 25 and came second in the Under-18 category after a strong swim and a good second run.

The event comprised a 1500 metre beach run, then a 200m sea run, followed by another 1500m run on the sand. Temperatures soared to 35C making the event even tougher as did the abundance of jellyfish!

Mark said: "I'm really pleased with this result, given the conditions.

"It was a great experience for me and it was made possible for me by the sponsorship of Sedgefield 75 Swimming, Mrs Wilkinson, Mrs Howe and an anonymous donor. I'm grateful for their generosity."

Mark has a busy schedule because, as well as a demanding academic programme at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, he is Vice President of the College's Student Association and combines this with training five or six times a week with Sedgefield 75 Swimming Club and Newton Aycliffe Athletics Club.