Oxford athlete Holly Cooper has made an enviable start to her season.

At her first race of the year the punishing Ashbourne Duathlon in the Peak District the 22-year-old student qualified for the Great Britain team for the World Age Group Duathlon Championships in Corner Brook, Canada.

Cooper, a member of the Oxford Triathlon Club, won gold in the 20-24 age group at the Ashbourne event, which consisted of a gruelling 12km run followed by a 40km bike ride and a 4km run.

She completed the course in 2hrs 52mins 50secs to book herself onto the GB team bound for Canada at the end of July.

Ashbourne was one of three qualifying events at which athletes must prove their worth to the GB team selectors with the top five in each age group securing their place on the national team.

Cooper, who lives in Cowley and is an occupational therapy student at Oxford Brookes University, said: "It was a tough race, but it was all worth it when I crossed the line. The first run was all up hill and the course was challenging, mentally and physically.

"It's such a relief to know I've qualified at the first opportunity. I'm very pleased with the result.

"I can now focus on the World Championships for the rest of the season and just enjoy the other qualifying races with the pressure off."

Cooper's result comes on the back of some tough winter training, which has seen her dedicate an average of 15 hours a week to her training programme.

She is coached by Oxford Triathlon Club's head coach, Mike Dunmore.

She said: "So many people have put such a lot of hard work in over the past few months to help me, so I have to thank Mike and everyone I train with at Oxford Tri."

Teammates Mark Herd and Hanno Nickau were also in action at Ashbourne.

For Herd, who competes in the 40-44 age group, it was an eventful race.

He struggled with cramp in the early stages of the bike course before skidding on a wet road and crashing into a car.

Despite some damage to his bike, he managed to continue with his race, finishing in 2.32.15 to grab the final qualifying spot in his age group for the GB team.

Nickau, who is focusing on qualifying for the World Age Group Ironman Championships, raced well to finish in 2.28.41.