EDINBURGH Athlete Daniel McFeely had only one goal in mind when travelling down the A7 on Sunday morning, to win the Hawick Sprint Triathlon.

It was to be a day of firsts for the 22-year-old marketing guru who competes for the JETS Triathlon Club based in the capital.

Competing at the Hawick event for the first time McFeely notched his first ever triathlon win. A feat that was never in doubt, according to the young victor.

“I was totally focussed on this event and was determined to get the win,” he said.

“The course was quite difficult and a slippery surface made life very difficult on certain parts of the cycle route.

“At the end of the day though I am just happy to have taken my first triathlon win, especially with several things going wrong.”

The Hawick event was the third of six in the Borders Triathlon Series and the remnants of Saturday’s heavy rain showers made for some tricky racing the following day for the 86 competitors taking part in both the Sprint Triathlon and the shorter distance Come & Tri event.

Sunday itself however was dry and bright and, for most, the 20.29 cycle course alongside the River Teviot and out towards Hassendean proved to be an enjoyable challenge.

Among the many local athletes taking part was Galashiels athlete Katrona Methven who won the Female Vintage section.

Katrona has been competing in triathlons for 13 years and Sunday saw her compete for the 10th time in Hawick.

She commented: “I keep coming back because I love competing and supporting the local triathlons.

“The route was challenging but it helped that I have done it so many times before."

Katrona was presented with her trophy by daughter Robyn who is Live Borders Triathlon Development Officer.

Amanda Blacklock from Galashiels, who works for Live Borders at the Galashiels Swimming Pool, was one of many taking part in the Come & Tri event where she finished 10th in a time of one hour, one minute and 33 seconds.

Amanda told us: "This was my first triathlon and I loved it.

“The route was challenging but I am proud of how well I have done. I appreciate how hard it is to organise an event like this and I thought the staff and marshals en route did a great job."

Hawick Leisure Centre Duty Manager Dan Wolf thanked everyone who took part and helped out at the event.

Hawick Sprint Triathlon

Overall: 1, Daniel McFeely (1 hour six minutes and 25 seconds); 2, Scott Findlay (01:07:00); 3, Graeme Starkey (01:08:52).

Female: 1, Sarah Scott (01:17:33); 2, Fiona Milligan (01:18:07); 3, Lesley Cook (01:20:29).

First Male Vintage: Les Cavill (01:17:04).

First Female Vintage: Katrona Methven (01:34:54).

First Male Super Vet: David Ross (01:16:16).

First Female Super Vet: Julie McBirnie (01:34:03).

First Male Vet: Craig Goldie (01:10:27).

First Female Vet: Fiona Milligan (01:18:07).

First Senior Male: Daniel McFeely (01:06:25).

First Senior Female: Sarah Scott (01:17:33).

Come & Tri Result

1, Martin Munro (00:47:41); 2, Joanne Thomson (00:47:46); 3, Ewen Sutcliffe (00.50.26).

The next event in the senior Series will be the Eyemouth Sprint Triathlon and Come & Try events, hosted by Eyemouth Leisure Centre (01890 750 557), on Sunday, June 11.

Eyemouth Sprint Triathlon: 750m swim, 19.14km cycle and 4.66km run. Start time: Sprint start time 9am. Race registration 7am to 8.35am

Eyemouth Come & Tri: 400m swim, 10.88km cycle and 2.33km run. Start time: Come & Tri start time 9am. Race registration 7am