A TEAM of three girls from Abingdon were named the best biathletes in the country for their age.

Lottie James, Florence Miller and Georgina Halfhead, all nine, from the Manor Prep School, near Abingdon, came first in the under-10s section of the British Biathlon Championships held in Birmingham.

A biathlon consists of a 50m swim and an 800m run. Hundreds of girls took part.

As a reward the girls will get a trip to the Olympic Park in London.

Florence said: “It was a fantastic experience. The competition was very strong.” Lottie and Georgina both said they were proud and cannot wait to visit the Olympic Park.

In total, 12 girls from the Manor Prep school went to the championships. The under-11 girls also performed well individually and qualified for the team competition, the top three girls coming in third in their group.

Catherine Duff of the school’s PE department said: “Hard work, determination and true grit paid off on the day. We could not be more proud of all of the girls.”