Radiographer is in for the sprint

Chris Beck, a therapeutic radiographer who works with cancer patients at NNUH, is travelling to Beijing on Tuesday (6 September) to take part in the ITU World Triathlon Championships.

He will take on some of the world’s best athletes in his age group (30 – 34) for the sprint event, which involves a 750m swim, a 20 km bike ride and a 5 km run. He hopes to complete the whole course in just under an hour.

With him will be Toby Morrell, a vet from Skeyton in Norfolk and Iain Robertson, a town planner from Norwich, who also qualified for the British squad.

Chris has always enjoyed keeping fit and is “very competitive” but tackled his first triathlon only two years ago after becoming disillusioned with rugby. He studied sport science before switching to radiography and takes an “analytical approach” to his training, devoting up to ten hours a week to honing his fitness, on top of cycling five miles to work every day from his home in Norwich.

”It can be hard to start training after working a ten-hour day but I am very focused – in my work as well as my sport – so I just get on with it.

“I am 30 this year and owe it to my girlfriend to cut down a bit. However, Beijing is a fantastic opportunity and I’m determined to give it all I’ve got.”