James Speight has set his sights on a top half finish in the Duathlon event at the World Games in Cali, Columbia. The Games, which are held every four years, run from July 25 to August 4, and while the Fermanagh man will be coming up against professional athletes, he is targeting a top 25 spot.

The Duathlon consists of a 10km run, a 40km bike ride and its back on your feet for a painful final 5km run.

Speight explains that he has been happy with his form going into the event.

"Things have been going well this year. I was unfortunate not to medal at the European U23s earlier in the year, losing time on the bike with a issue with my chain, but that's all part of racing. I feel I'm coming into good form now, as training has been going very well so hopefully I can get a good result at the Games," he commented.

Preparations for Columbia have not been as smooth as they could have been with a bike crash nearly scuppering his hopes of competing but he has had a clean run since then and is ready for action.

"In May I had a small strain in the calf which meant all I could do was get treatment, do some rehabilitation work and light training. Leading into June I started back fully but two weeks later I had a bad crash on the bike which resulted in a few nervous hours in A&E. Thankfully though I've had a solid six weeks of training leading into the Games," stated James.

Speight will travel to Columbia a few days prior to his event to try and get his body accustomed to the heat and the time difference in Cali and he will then be aiming for a big performance. "The World Games is a massive opportunity, to be honest I never thought I would be racing at this level so for me the Games is an experience itself. However I'm not going to the starting line with a mental attitude that I'm only here for the experience. I hope to place top half in the race and I would be delighted with that. My plan is to run a very hard first 10kms allowing me to jump on a strong bike pack, hopefully the bike group will work well meaning I won't have to do many turns at the front allowing me to save energy and recover for the last 5kms, at this stage in the race it just comes down to whatever you have left.

"The Games will be packed with pros, so I'm looking forward to testing myself against the very best in the game. Its my first senior event so it will be learning experience." And James is thankful for all the support he has received.

"I have some great people supporting me. My mum got me into sport has always been behind the scene, spending most of her time driving me from training to races. My sisters have always took a great interest in my training and racing. Kelly-Anne maybe takes more interest in the gear she can get from me! I've a talented training partner in Mark Hoy which makes training a lot easier and my coaches, Mark and Eamonn who make sure both me and all the athletes they train are in great shape. My sponsors Lakeland Bikes, have being nothing short of top class, providing me with everything I need to race. Without them I wouldn't be racing elite level Duathlons," he concluded.