Para-triathlete Mike Salisbury will defend his British championship title this weekend as he continues to inspire Dame Allan’s pupils with his sporting achievements.

Geography teacher and Assistant Head of Sixth Form, Mr Salisbury, will compete against some of the nation’s top athletes in the British Paratriathlon Championship, at Eton Dorney, Buckinghamshire, on Saturday.

Despite contracting Covid-19 only last month, he hopes to be crowned national champion within the sport’s PTS5 classification – for ambulant athletes with mild impairments – having won the event last year.

He said: “Falling ill with Covid did set me back in June and forced me to miss a competition in Spain, however I’m fighting fit and looking forward to defending my title at Eton Dorney.

“I’ve had some fantastic support from pupils, which has really buoyed me both when competing and during training sessions around Newcastle, and I’m grateful to all those who have followed my triathlon journey over the last two years.”

Mr Salisbury, who was born with a congenial shortening of the left arm and entered his first paratriathlon in September 2020, continues to inspire pupils, staff, and friends of Dame Allan’s Schools with his successes when representing GBR on the world paratriathlon circuit.

Earlier this month he placed 9th in the World Triathlon Para Series at Montreal, Canada, having missed out at a World Cup event in A Coruña just weeks earlier due to Covid. Ranked 2nd in the UK and 20th in the world in the PTS5 classification, Mr Salisbury has a busy schedule of competitions over the summer holiday.

On August 6, he will compete against the world’s best para-triathletes in Swansea when the Welsh city hosts Britain’s first-ever standalone World Triathlon Para Series event. Over the weekend of August 20 – 21, he will defend his title in Sunderland when it hosts the British Triathlon Grand Final, bringing together athletes from the Youth and Junior, Senior, and Paratri Super Series.

He said: “I’m excited to see the Grand Final come to Sunderland, not least because it will be a local event for me, and I’ll be able to train on the roads and get used to the water conditions.

“What I would love to see are some familiar faces at the event and I would encourage pupils to come along and enjoy a really spectacular weekend of sport, involving some of the finest athletes in the UK.”