Kiera Tippett ready for her Great Britain debut (From Echo)

Kiera Tippett ready for her Great Britain debut

7:00pm Tuesday 24th July 2012 in Sport By Ryan Goad

BENFLEET teenager Kiera Tippett is heading to the World Biathle Championships in Dubai.

The 13-year-old King John School pupil finished third in the national championships in Manchester to book her spot in the Great Britain team.

Biathle is a continuous run, swim, run event, with Tippett’s race taking place over 500m, 100m and another 500m.

So in multi-discipline terms it was close to a sprint.

“It was amazing,” she said. “As soon as got over the line and knew I had qualified I had the biggest smile.

“Biathle was a bit of a new experience for me. I normally do the longer distances and this was so fast. I wasn’t expecting it to be that fast.

“It really hasn’t sunk in yet that I will be going to Dubai to compete against the best girls in the world.”

Tippett was competing in the 13-14 age group where she was among the youngest of the field.

And she came so close to winning the silver medal. She dived into the chilly water of Salford Quays in fifth place after the first run, maintained that position in the swim and then moved through the field in the final run.

And she ended up finishing just two seconds behind the second-placed athlete. “We really weren’t expecting her to do so well,” said mum Trish Tippett.

“We didn’t even know it was a World Championship qualifier until we arrived in Manchester. “It was so great to see her face when she knew she had finished third.

“It was a massive, beaming smile. The biggest I have ever seen!”

Amazingly, just 24 hours before, Tippett had competed in the Eastern Region Aquathlon Championships at Whittingham Lake, Norfolk, where she finished second.

The teenager is now set to embark on a series of fundraising events to fund the trip to the World Championships in Dubai, which take place in November.

The British team contribute a certain amount of the costs, but there is still a shortfall that needs to be filled to ensure both Kiera and mum Trish can travel to the Emirate state.

If anyone can help with sponsorship, they should contact Trish Tippett on anniegunn@blueyonder.co.uk