Double for Collins as Mexico trip is sealed

The triathlete, from Southsea, has earned two bronze medals on the national stage. First up was the standard distance race at the English ITU Championships in Cambridgeshire. Collins finished on the podium with a bronze in the 40 to 44 age group and that result booked his trip to Mexico in September for the World Championships. Fellow Portsmouth duo Kris Nicholson and Rory Bryan have also qualified after they finished fourth and fifth respectively in the 45-49 age group. A week later in the British sprint championships at Emberton, Collins showed his class over the shorter distance with another bronze medal in a time of 1hr 03min 15sec. That made it two out of two qualifications and he could now race both sprint and standard distances for Great Britain in Mexico. Collins said: ‘I had a good swim, coming out of the water in eighth and then a solid bike leg, smooth transition and nice run. ‘I was a bit concerned that the legs would be sore after the previous race but they were fine. ‘So I ran down most of the remaining competition and got up to third place within 1k of the finish, claiming another bronze medal. ‘I’ve now qualified for sprint and standard races at the worlds in September. ‘There’s a two-day gap between each event which means I should be able to race both this year.’ Next up for Collins is the European Championships in Lisbon, Portugal on Sunday when he lines up for GB in the standard distance race in the age 40 to 44 category. The competition will be strong so it will be a good test of his top early season form.