5 Jan 2022
Vet nurse Katie achieved a top 10 finish in her age group at the Duathlon World Championships in Spain, where she took on a 5.1km run, a 21.2km cycle race and a second 2.8km run.
Rachael Buzzel
Job Title
A sports-mad vet nurse is celebrating after achieving duathlon race success in Spain.
Katie Roberts, RVN and flow coordinator at Linnaeus-owned Paragon Veterinary Referrals in Wakefield, achieved a top 10 finish in the 35 to 39 age group in the Duathlon World Championships – which took part in Avilés, Spain in November 2021 – and was the second fastest British entrant.
The gruelling contest saw Miss Roberts take on a 5.1km run, followed by a 21.2km cycle race and topped off by a 2.8km run.
She said: “I enjoy multisport activities, but I’m a complete novice at duathlon and wasn’t expecting to qualify, so to finish 10th and as the second fastest Brit was brilliant.
“It’s crazy really. I have only competed six times in total, yet two of those have been in major championships.”
Miss Roberts’ race journey started in 2018 when she decided to enter a qualifying race for the European Championships.
Successfully qualifying, she went to Romania in 2019 for the championships, where she finished in ninth place and was the seventh best British entrant.
Miss Roberts went on to qualify for the 2020 world championships in Holland, but COVID-19 had other ideas.
However, she continued to train hard, only to suffer a hamstring injury.
Miss Roberts said: “The timing could not have been worse as shortly afterwards the British team got in touch to say the world championships had been rescheduled for this year in Avilés in Spain, and I still had a place.
“I decided to enter another duathlon to see where I was fitness-wise, and let’s just say it was not great. My injury was bad and I didn’t get the result I wanted. It also didn’t help that my other half, who was new to the sport, did extremely well.
“But there was no way I was going to miss the rescheduled world championships in Spain, and incredibly, all the hard work paid off.
“It’s still hard to believe. I still feel like I’m learning at duathlon, and I’m just grateful for every opportunity to compete.”
