A TROWBRIDGE triathlete will pit himself against some of the fittest athletes on the planet after qualifying for the Ironman World Championships.

Paul Ransome, who is a personal trainer and lives in Staverton Marina, has earned his right to compete against the world's best at the championships in Kona, Hawaii next year.

The 34-year-old's selection was secured after he came fourth overall and third in his age-group at Ironman Weymouth, which involved a 3.8km swim in Weymouth Bay, a 180km cycle and a marathon, earlier this month.

Mr Ransome, who represented Great Britain at the European Long Distance Championships where he won a silver medal, finished in 9hrs 38mins 55secs, taking 20 minutes off his previous personal best to take the last available slot.

"I was absolutely over the moon when I found out I had qualified but it was an agonising wait until the next day before it was confirmed, I was on tenterhooks," he said.

"There will be around 2,000 athletes competing from around the world and I have got my sights set on making the top 100 and hopefully the top five in my age category of 30-34.

"This is something that I love and have put a lot of hard work into so to know that I am off to the world championships is a fantastic feeling.- as the Ironman mantra says - anything is possible."

Mr Ransome, who has a wife, 36-year-old Michelle, and two children, Cameron, five, and Isabella, three, got hooked on the lung-busting challenge after completing his first long distance triathlon in 2014, and since then he has become obsessed with it.

"After my first race I caught the Ironman bug. Now just two years later I am fulfilling my dream - to race against the world's best athletes in Hawaii, the birthplace of Ironman - hard work really does pay off," he said.

"Even though it is over a year away, the excitement is already building. I am already looking at sorting accommodation and the flights. The kids are looking forward to it too, they know that daddy does big races.

"They know that they are going to the other side of the world next year. Isabella has been saying, "We are going to the championships", which is very sweet."

Until then, Mr Ransome and his family are looking forward to a new addition in the family, as Michelle is pregnant with a third child that is due in February.