AN ENGINEER who swapped his football boots for triathlon essentials will be proudly wearing his Team GB strip for the hotly-contested Challenge Weymouth.

Mark Jacobs, who works at MoD Boscombe Down, is representing the British Triathlon Age Group Team in the European Championships Long Distance Triathlon.

The 30-year-old will be taking on a 3.8km swim, 180km bike ride and then a marathon run to cap off what will be a packed Sunday.

It is the biggest event to date for Jacobs, who took up the sport only four years ago after playing football in the Salisbury and District League for many years.

Since 2011, he has completed various distance triathlons and multi-sport events, including two ironman races in Florida and Switzerland.

In preparation for the event, Jacobs is training 12 to 14 hours a week, and swims at Five Rivers Leisure Centre.

“I am extremely proud to fly the flag for Salisbury at this flying spectacle event,” he said.

Channel 4, Sky Sports and Eurosport will be screening an hour-long programme on the event, which will see 1,500 athletes from across Europe eyeing up gold and the cash prizes worth hundreds of pounds.

For more information, visit challengeweymouth.com.