A champion triathlete will race with the world’s best after being chosen for an invite-only race in China.
Matt Nelson, 26, a third-year Sports Rehabilitation student will race against Olympic champions, including the Brownlee brothers.
Matt is the current British National Champion and British University Champion for his form of triathlon, known as non-drafting.
Triathletes must complete a 1500m open water swim, 40km bike ride and 10km run.
The non-drafting race means during the cycling stint, riders must stay a certain length behind the rider in front as opposed to the draft legal type of triathlon you see in the Olympics.
Up until the age of 19, Matt was an elite swimmer, but having missed out on a place in the 2012 London Olympics, he decided he wanted a change.
“I ran as a youngster, but had never ridden a road bike, so I thought if I could learn to do that, then I could try my hand at triathlons.”
Matt is part of the University of Hull’s Talented Athlete Programme. The programme is funded by Alumni and offers sport scholarships for students who compete at elite level in their sport. The programme offers a range of support options; financial support, gym membership, strength & conditioning training, rehabilitation, yoga, flexibility & mindfulness, personal development mentoring and nutrition advice.
This year the University will have 19 students on TAP. All from a broad range of sports such as squash, athletics and equestrian.
In 2012, he took part in his first triathlon at Rother Valley. He progressed quickly in the sport becoming a British elite triathlete two years later before cracking the European scene and becoming part of the GB European Team.
During the off-season, Matt will train up to six hours per day ensuring he gets six training sessions of each discipline in per week, as well as three gym sessions.