GYM coaches Chris Cummins and Harry Morse have returned 'super proud' from the United States after being pitched against the best in the world at a fitness competition held in Las Vegas.

The CrossFit Skipton coaches beat thousands of competitors from all over the world to be placed 11th in their 16 to 29 year old category and 44th overall at the HYROX Fitness race world championships.

Chris, owner of the gym, and fitness coach, Harry, spent eight months in training for the competition after first qualifying for the contest at a heat in Manchester.

The global fitness race is attended by up to 3,000 athletes, all competing in the same race on the same course, a one km run, followed by a functional workout repeated eight times.

Accompanied by a small band of supporters, Chris and Harry made the long journey over to Las Vegas and while adjusting to the heat and jet-lag competed in their race, finishing in a time of one hour, one minute and 28 seconds.

Chris said: “Competing out in Las Vegas was such an incredible experience for Harry and I. Training over the past few months has been brutal and to show off our progress on the world stage was fantastic. It was great to have support from some of our members and friends and it was amazing finally to share the stage with some of the fittest people in the world."

He added: "I just wanted to personally thank the Skipton branch of the Royal British Legion and our friends over at WIT Fitness who supported our efforts out in Las Vegas. Also, it was truly an honour to share this experience with my good friend and colleague Harry."

Harry added they were both very proud of how they had performed. “We’ve had months to plan and build the perfect training programme to give us the best chance to come out on top in Las Vegas. After a tough few months of ramping up training to its most intense, we felt fully prepared to give the world championships a run for its money.

"While dealing with a bit of jet lag and adjusting to the Las Vegas weather we gave HYROX our all, for just over an hour. We’re both super proud of our performance and we’re so happy we qualified for the world championships. We will certainly be back next year and will aim for that top spot."