Anna Anderson has won a bronze medal at the ITU Aquathon World Championships in Beijing, while in the Triathlon World Championships staged three days later she narrowly missed her second medal of the tournament, finishing fourth after the chain slipped off her bike.

The 22-year-old Pendle Athletic Club member from Wycollar was competing in the Age Group Championships after winning her Age 20-24 class in the Dorney Tri Challenge at the Eton College Rowing Centre.

On that day in May she was competing in the ‘Sprint’ class which comprises of 750m swim, 20k bike and 5k run, but she could have opted for the ‘Standard’ (Olympic) distances in China as she qualified for that too by finishing fourth in her class at the Dambuster Triathlon at Rutland Water in June.

Both World Championship dist-ances were contested in Beijing, with the standard race following the route of the 2008 Olympic Games. Anderson’s sprint event used half of the course.

The Aquathon – two runs sandwiched by a swim – was always going to suit Anderson, who was an England fell running international as a school girl. During that time she was also in the Westholme School relay team that swam the English Channel.

According to her father John, who will be welcoming her home today, she was absolutely delighted with her medal.

Among all the age groups she was the first Brit, and was seventh outright.

Since her qualifier, Anna has acquired ‘Kermit’ - a bright green bike which she has been getting used to for the last month.

Sponsored and built by Hope Technology in Barnol-dswick, it simply carries the word ‘Hope’ on the frame. Getting up on Saturday at around 4am for a 6.30am start in pouring rain, ‘trepidation’ might have been more appropriate with the biking conditions being described by Alistair Brownlee as dangerous.

Even though the chain came off her bike at one stage, apparently due to her lack of familiarity with the machine, a terrific perfor-mance left her the first of the 12 British athletes, 11th overall and fourth in her age band.

Her time of 1:15:38 was 37 seconds behind the bronze medallist and just over a minute shy of second – close enough to wonder what might have been but for that mishap.

n Anderson is a member of the Leeds Met University Triathlon Club where she trains with Jack Maitland’s elite group alongside the Brownlee brothers. The centrepiece of the competition at Beijing was the Dextro Energy ITU World Championship Final, which was won by Alistair Brownlee while Jonathan was third.

With victories also in Madrid and London this year Alistair has regained the ITU World Triathlon Championship, which he previously won in 2009 while Jonathan takes second place after winning the U23 World Championship last year.

The pair, who like Anderson are former England fell running internationals, are among the favourites for Olympic gold next year.