TWO Cornish students had the experience of a lifetime as they represented their country in triathlon in America.

Ben Kent and Ben Hicks, who study at Truro College, represented Great Britain as they both competed in the ITU Triathlon World Championships in Chicago last month.

Ben Kent, aged 18 from Scorrier, took part in two races in the 18-19 Age Group; Aquathlon and the Standard Triathlon. He came 15th and 21st respectively, as well as beating his personal best by 7 minutes in the Standard Triathlon with a time of 02:12:16.

He said: “My first impressions of the event was that it was huge! It was bigger than every race I’ve done before – there were roughly 3000 competitors across all of the age groups. The competition was a lot higher than what I’m used to – the race level was ridiculously quick so I was 10 minutes off the winner.

“I did as well as I expected in the Triathlon but I’ve never cycled and ran as quick before – I’m not a runner but I thought as it’s the biggest race I’ve been in I’ll just go for it! I’m surprised I came so high in the Aquathlon as it’s only the second one I’ve ever done.”

Talking about how the experience will influence his sport in the future, Ben said: “When I’ve competed in England I used to get really nervous but they are just half the size of what I did in Chicago so I will be able to cope with the pressure better now.”

With his results, Ben has automatically qualified for the Aquathlon competition at the World Championships in Mexico next year.

Ben Hicks, aged 18 from Truro, competed in the Sprint in the 16-19 Age Group and finished in 34th place with a time of 01:05:18 in what was a faster race in comparison to previous competitions. He has qualified for the European Championships in Lisbon taking place in May 2016.