A young athlete from South East Cornwall has picked up a silver medal at the National Biathle Championships.

Alice Gray, a pupil at Calstock County Primary School, made the trip to Salford Quays in Manchester on Sunday for the event, which was organised by the Modern Pentathlon Association of Great Britain. The nine-year-old secured second spot in the ten-years-and-under category in a race consisting of a continuous 500-metre run, by a 50-metre swim inside one of the quays and then a 500-metre sprint to the finish line.

Needless to say, the swim in the quays without a

wetsuit proved too much for some of the competitors, with some unable to accept the cold water temperatures. But Alice, who trains at the Tavistock Athletic Club, as well as competing for the Plymouth Leander and Launceston swim clubs had no such trouble as she stormed to the silver medal.

The youngsters, along with sister Elizabeth, had already tasted success in the Junior Open Water Aqua-thon event, organised by the Plymouth Triathlon Club and held at the Mount Batten Centre in Plymouth.