THEY may be taking a brief breather for the benefit of our camera but York City Baths Club duo Ben Barber and Georgia Pipes are poised to plunge into breath-taking international action, writes Deputy Sports Editor Tony Kelly.

Ben, aged 12, and ten-year-old club-mate Georgia have both been selected for the British team to compete in the International Youth Triathlon in Portugal in July.

They will be up against athletes from the host nation, Spain and France in the Copa Atlantico Cup in which they will embark on a continuous triple of events comprising a 1,000-metre run, a 100-metres swim and a pistol shooting competition from a distance of ten metres.

Ben trains six days a week with the YCBC and also competes with the White Rose Triathlon club. Georgia, who was second overall in the British pentathlon championships last summer and was also second in the British triathlon championships in Wolverhampton last November, swims three times a week, runs three times a week, shoots four times a week as well as fencing at Harrogate Fencing Club and rides her own pony when she can.