A promising young triathlete from Darlington got her season underway in style when she came first in the Junior Stokesley Spring Duathlon.

Rebecca Ladyman, 19, has been selected by British Triathlon to participate in the ETU Sprint Distance Triathlon European Championships, in the under-20s category later this year.

The competition will take place in June at Alanya, on Turkey's Mediterranean coast.

Ladyman qualified for the event after finishing in the top four within her age group at the Rother Valley Festival in September last year.

Competing for Great Britain comes as a big step up for Rebecca but a first place finish in her first event of the season has set her up nicely for the challenges ahead.

"My first race went pretty well. The conditions weren't brilliant, but it was the perfect way to get the season up and running," Ladyman said.

"Training has been getting harder recently, but that will be continuing with June getting closer."

There may be big opportunities coming up this year for Rebecca, but she continues to compete locally as well.

Her outing in the Stokesley Spring Duathlon, which involves two 5km runs separated by a 35km cycle, was her first big event of the season, and she still competes for Darlington Triathlon Club, with whom she also trains regularly.

She has been racing for about three years and revealed it was family influence that got her involved in the sport.

She said: "My dad did one or two triathlons a few years back. I just thought I'd give them a go."

She has been recognised as the club's Junior Triathlete of the Year in each of the last two years.

Club chairman Graham Bell said: "Rebecca has shown tremendous progress in triathlon over the last couple of years and we are thrilled that her achievements have been recognised with selection for the European Sprint Championships.

"She has the potential to establish a very successful career in the sport in the years ahead."

When asked what her aims were for the coming year, Rebecca gave a down-to-earth response: "I just want to do as well as I can in June [in the European Championship].

"I am also going to London later in the year, and I get to run on the Olympic course which is exciting."