TRIATHLON enthusiast James Scott-Farrington dreams of one day winning Ironman UK after being inspired to take up the sport by his hometown event.

The 22-year-old sports injury therapist, whose family home is on Chorley New Road, happened upon the race four years ago.

While he was struck by the pain etched on the faces of the competitors running by him, rather than putting him off it moved him to find out more.

Fast forward four years and the Leeds University graduate is now training in the same squad as the Olympic medal-winning Brownlee brothers.

And after claiming a silver medal in his age group at the recent World Championships in Rotterdam, Scott-Farrington is now keen to step up from the lesser Olympic distance to earn a pro deal with an elite Ironman team.

"The Ironman in Bolton is where it all started for me, so to win that would be my ultimate goal," he said.

"That would be unbelievable – running up and down Chorley New Road with my home crowd cheering me on would be unreal.

"That has always been in the back of my mind since I first found out about the race.

"I remember, it was in 2013, I had just walked up the hill outside my house and came upon these runners and thought 'what the bloody hell is this'?

"I asked one of the spectators and then Goggled it to find out more.

"I was really impressed and knew straight away that was what I wanted to do."

The idea of her son taking on such a mammoth physical challenge was not instantly welcomed by mum Elaine.

He was unable to play sport during a large part of his childhood due to an illness called Sever's Disease, which lasts in children for a few years and causes a painful swelling of the tendons that link the heel with the calf muscle.

"I remember when James declared he was going to do the Ironman I said there's no way," said Elaine.

"But I knew he was searching for something sporty to do so we took him along to Leigh Sports Village to use the running track there. It just happened to be where Wigan Tri Club had their base.

"From the age of about 10 to 15, James was not able to do any sport as it caused him too much pain. He loved to play football, but by the time the Sever's Disease began to wear off it was too late for him to get back into it seriously.

"So as soon as he found out about triathlon he was ready to throw himself into it."

The first big event he entered was the Chester Olympic-distance triathlon in 2014, when he finished 611th overall.

As a measure of his progress, Scott-Farrington returned this year and finished 13th. Importantly, he was also fourth in his age group, which, as one of four qualifying tournaments across the UK, earned him an age-group place at the ITU World Triathlon Championships in Rotterdam.

In the intervening years, the young Boltonian completed a sports science degree at Leeds University, during which time he also became a member of the same Leeds Tri Club where the Brownlee brothers and the majority of the country's top triathletes train.

He recently extended his stay in Leeds, starting a two-year masters course in sports injury therapy.

"I decided to do the course part-time so I could concentrate more on training, with the hope of possibly catching the eye of an Ironman team," he said.

"I couldn't quite believe I managed to finish second at the World Championships, but I know in myself that I'm better suited to the longer distance.

"I always had better stamina than most of my friends growing up and that has translated into triathlon, I want to run longer, cycle longer and swim longer than anyone else.

"I finished second in my age group in my first half Ironman in Majorca last year, and would have won if I had not got a puncture.

"The plan is to see how my winter training goes and hopefully go one better in Majorca next year, then see where I go from there."