by A father and a son of Carlisle qualified for the Ironman World Championships.
Phil and Matthew Whitehead won their spots after running their age groups in Ironman 70.3 Oman.
They should participate in the international race in Marbella in November.
The qualification competition saw them finish a swim by 1.2 mile, a cycle of 56 miles and a 13.1 miles in the sun at 30 degrees.
Mr. Whitehead, a quarter of E.ON team at the Steven power plant, already participated in the world championships in Hawaii in 2017, then in Nice in 2019 and 2023.
Matthew, a project management apprentice with Atkins Realis, only took triathlon two years ago.
He had his first major victory as part of a relay team at Lakesman, the award -winning event he organizes with his father and mother, Marie.
Ironman 70.3 Oman was his first qualification attempt for the world championships.
Matthew beat his father on four -minute swimming, finishing in 26:36.
He also paved the way on the bicycle, finishing the cycle in two hours 14 minutes.
However, as the race is the strongest discipline of Mr. Whitehead, he finished the half-marathon in an hour 25 minutes, six minutes faster than his son.
Overall, he finished the race just over a minute slower than his son.
Matthew had led the 18-24-year-old athletes of the pistol, finishing in four hours 18 minutes, 18 minutes ahead of his age group competitors.
Mr. Whitehead had made his way through the age group 45-49 to win in four hours 19 minutes.
Matthew said: “I am absolutely delighted to have qualified myself during my first attempt and I can’t wait for Marbella.
“There is already a large group of supporters who have reserved flights and hotels to encourage us, so it should be a great weekend.”
Mr. Whitehead added: “I am really happy to have qualified so early in the season and it is even better than we are in competition in Marbella.
“Matthew participating noted that I had to resume serious training to keep him on his guard.”
