A KEIGHLEY triathlete was a minuscule 11 seconds away from taking home a gold medal in his first attempt at a world championships this past weekend.

Jimmy Lund gained silver in the under 23s category and fourth overall, if you include the elite men, in the World Triathlon Aquathlon Championships with a time of 28 minutes, 27 seconds.

Home favourite Ander Noain Lacamara (28.16) was the man to deny Lund glory in Extremadura, Spain.

The race focussed more on the swimming element of an Olympic distance triathlon with none of the usual cycling.

The Keighley man completed his 1km swim in 11.29 and the 5km run in15.37.

Lund, who is part of the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy, which is supported by the Brownlee Foundation, is hoping to learn from the experience and go one better next year.

“It was great and I was pleased with my silver,” he told the Keighley News.

“I prefer the triathlon because it is a bit of a longer event.

“The aquathlon is just as challenging though. People think because you take the bike out it becomes easier but it is just as hard.

“I got selected to race for Great Britain so I flew out on Thursday and the race was on Saturday.

“It was in the middle of Spain so it was hard to get to but the event itself was really good.

“It was my first world championships so it was a different experience, getting used to racing at that level.

“Richard Varga (who finished second overall in this event) is quite a big name on the world scene so it was good to be close to him.

“Next year I will get another crack at it because it is my last year in the under 23s. I will hope to win it then."

With the start of the season delayed by Covid, Lund’s first real race of 2021 saw him come second in the prestigious British Triathlon Senior Super Series at Hetton.

He followed that Hetton performance up with a fifth place finish in Leicestershire in the second Super Series event.

He also competed in the French Grand Prix in Châteauroux earlier this year.

The West Yorkshireman’s final race of this season is the Europe Triathlon Cup in Quarteira, Portugal.

It will be a chance for Lund to compete against some of the best triathletes in the world over the full distance (1500m swim, 40k bike and 10k run).

He feels it will put him in great stead for when he attempts to turn professional in 2022.

The student - who is currently studying Sport and exercise science at Loughborough University - said: “It will be a case of seeing how well I do in this and get as many points as possible to put me in a good place for next season where I’ll be racing almost full time as a senior trying to get to World Cup level in triathlon.

“At Loughborough Uni, there is quite a lot of prospects there too so it is a good squad to be training with.

“The main goal is to become a full time professional athlete.

“It is just about getting enough money to finance it. It is all about getting sponsors which is tricky.”