WEYMOUTH College’s Tom Priest recorded a fifth-placed finish at the Aquathlon World Championships in Edmonton, Canada.

The sports lecturer, 27, completed the course in 30 minutes and 44 seconds, shaving four and a half minutes off the medal-winning time that won him a place on the GB squad for Canada, when he finished third at the European Champion-ships in May.

Similar to the triathlon but without the cycling section, the aquathlon is a dual-discipline race consisting of a 750m open-water swim followed by a 5,000m run.

The aquathlon is not yet an Olympic sport. As such, it is self-funded; even those selected for the Great Britain squad, like Priest, are expected to pay for their own travel and accommodation.

Priest was less than a minute outside the medal times and finished as the fastest of three Britons in his age group.

The competition was won by Alfonso Magaña Mondragón, from Mexico.

During the race, Priest recorded his fastest-ever swim on the kilometre-long open-water section of the course.

He was delighted with his time, having wanted to give his all on the international stage.

He said: “I made a decision before the race that this was my one opportunity to have a real go at this level, so I tried to swim as hard as possible and position myself in the lead group before the run.

“It felt as if my lungs were bursting as I exited the swim.”

The result in Edmonton capped almost 12 months of incredible hard work.

It was, as Priest describes it, “a busy year”.

His preparations began back in October, 2013, when he started training for his first competition of the season.

Before heading out to Canada, Priest was training six days a week with sessions typically lasting up to two hours a day; an exhausting training regime that he had to balance with the demands of work at Weymouth College.

Nevertheless, Priest has enjoyed the full support of college staff and students.

College principal Liz Myles, has followed Priest’s success throughout the year and said: “Being fifth in the world is a great achievement and I’m sure it will inspire our students.”