Doctor ready for World Championships

11:11am Thursday 22nd May 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

STOURPORT GP Rachel Ward will be testing herself to the limit when she represents Great Britain in the World Triathlon Championships in June.

The Amazing Feet member, 49, gets her first taste of international action when she competes in the 45 to 50 age section in Vancouver, Canada.

Ward, who has been working in the town as a doctor since 1991, qualified for the event because of her excellent results in 2006 and 2007, despite breaking her clavicle last year.

"I want to do as well as I possibly can do, being someone who has had to manage my training with my full-time job and family," said Dr Ward.

"I will be up against opponents who have had more time to prepare but I am determined to do my very best.

"It's an honour to be competing for Great Britain. One of the great things about competing in the triathlon is that it is one of the few sports where you can still compete for your country in an older age group."

Dr Ward got the taste for triathlon when she started competing in the sport in 2004 and juggles work and family life with intensive training.

In April, she completed her third successive London Marathon in a time of three hours, 36 minutes and four seconds and raised around £7,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Resources Centre.