FOUR athletes from Cross Fit Bull in Hereford crossed the Channel to Paris to take part in a competition to find this year's fittest man and woman in Europe.

Jeremy Wheadon, owner of CrossFit Bull, and three gym members Melissa Williams, Denise Steer and Nicki Mooneyvale all competed in the Masters division of the fitness competition, beating thousands of athletes from across Europe to qualify for the competition.

Athletes competed in a wide variety of events designed to test their ability across a range of skills and disciplines.

From traditional weightlifting, to handstand walks to a mini triathlon, the athletes were pushed to their limits throughout the two-day event.

Wheadon, who came ninth in the Battle of London competition earlier in the year, came 12th against tough competition.

Williams, Steet and Mooneyvale came 16th, 10th and 21st respectively with Steer making the final in her first competitive outing.

“Each of the women have been training at CrossFit Bull since we opened in September 2013, given such a short time period their improvements and achievements are absolutely fantastic and truly inspiring to all our members” said Murray Barratt, a Coach at CrossFit Bull.

Athletes from the club, at the other end of the age scale, have also been excelling themselves.

Caitlin Wheadon, age 13 (Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School) and Owen Rivers, age 15 (Whitecross Hereford High School ) took part in their first CrossFit Teens competition in Cannock.

Caitlin gained their place in the category 13-16 girls with and Owen won the category 13-16 boys.

There were six workouts throughout the day, varying from using weights such as kettle bells and barbells to climbing ropes and using body weight, all of which were challenging, but lasted no more than 10 minutes for each workout.

These workouts all required stamina, strength, flexibility and speed.

The teens were given a couple of months to practise the workouts prior to the competition, with one surprise workout being announced on the day - this was a max lift ground to overhead.

Caitlin and Owen have been doing CrossFit for just over two years.

Anyone seeking further information about adults, teens or kids classes should visit www.crossfitbull.co.uk.