MIKE Trees, a 39-year-old athlete from Darlington, has followed up his success in the British national duathlon championships by winning the Japanese national title for the fourth time.

Trees, whose parents live in Hurworth, is working in the Far East to improve business links between Europe and Japan.

He combines studying Japanese business practice and language with training for the challenging event, which involves running and cycling.

The Japanese duathlon championships were held recently at Wakasaji over a mountainous course.

Trees' hill climbing training paid dividends in the race, which comprised a 5km run followed by a 40km bike ride and another 5km run.

The strong field set off at a strong pace and Trees was able to drop all but two contenders on the bike section, before pulling clear on the second run to win by just under 20 seconds.

Work commitments have prevented him racing much this year, but his latest success puts him in line to compete in the world championships in the United States in October