Sarah Terry from Long Bennington finishes fourth in the 45-49 age group on her World Duathlon Championship debut in Pontevedra, Spain

Sarah Terry did so well on her World Duathlon Championship debut that she’s pre-qualified for next year’s event.

Terry, from Long Bennington, finished fourth in the 45-49 age group in Pontevedra, Spain.

She completed the sprint distance - 5k run, 20k bike, 2.5k run - in an overall time of 1hr13min06sec.

The 49-year-old finished as the third British athlete in class to book a spot in Abu Dhabi in November 2026.

That was a huge bonus given the knee injury she’s been carrying since last September had already ruled her out of two qualifying events, with one chance remaining.

Terry took fourth place on her European Championship debut in Poland earlier this year.

And she repeated the trick in her maiden World Championship.

She said: “It was great to get there and a brilliant experience, absolutely brilliant.

“I much preferred the World Championships because the atmosphere is just incredible, with more countries there, and it’s even better organised.

“The Europeans are fantastic as well but everything is just done to the highest standard possible.

“I was happy to get there, happy to come fourth, with the little training I’ve had, and the real bonus for me was that I’ve pre-qualified for the World Championships next year.

“I was absolutely thrilled with that because I missed two of the qualifiers at the beginning of the year, because of my injuries, and I had one opportunity left, which is actually in three weeks’ time.

“I’m still going to go for the training and the fun of it but now the pressure has been taken off.

“I found out the World Championships are In Abu Dhabi next year, and not until November, so I can plan and save up to make sure I can go.

“That will be something to look forward to and keep me going for the next year, and I’ve already qualified for the Europeans.”

Terry’s knee seems to be on the mend, to the extent she’s considering taking on a standard distance duathlon.

She will tailor her training accordingly for the challenge ahead.

“It’s great because after nine months I’ve now taken off my knee support, so that’s a real positive,” said Terry.

“I feel like the tear in my knee is nearly better now and I’ve just started upping my running training because I would like to try a standard distance duathlon.

“All being well, my injuries don’t flare up in any way but we’ll see how it goes.

“I don’t take anything for granted.”