Croydon’s Bryony Turrell completed a gruelling three cities in one day challenge after swimming in Paris, cycling in Brussels and running in London on Tuesday as part of the inaugural Eurostar Tri-City-Athlon.

Turrell, who has been training at South London Harriers Tri Club and Addiscombe Cycling Club, completed the 1500m swim at the Bassin de la Villette in 28.48 minutes, the 40km bike ride in the park around King Baudouin I Stadium in 1.22.42 hours and the 10km run in Regents Park in 47.04 minutes to finish 72nd overall.

And after sharing the stage with former Olympic silver medallist Iwan Thomas and four-time world champion swimmer Karen Pickering, Turrell admits memories of the unique triathlon will stay with her for a lifetime.

“I was really pleased with how everything went and I really exceeded my expectations of myself throughout the day,” said Turrell.

“I think my swim was the best, I swam it before I went and I could only do 32 minutes but I managed to go under 30 minutes so that was brilliant and it set me up really well for the rest of the day.

“It was a really exciting day and it was great to be competing against some of the best people in the sport even though I am just an amateur.”

Elite British triathlon brothers Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee both took to the podium, with 2009 world champion Alistair claiming the bike ride in 58.04 minutes and current world U23 champion Jonathan triumphing in the run in 34.03 minutes.

It was Theo Rebeyrotte of France who claimed the overall title - and after helping celebrate Eurostar’s partnership with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games by testing herself against Europe’s best, Turrell insists she’d be the first to put her hand up should the event return in 2011.

“I was a bit nervous about the bike and Alistair Brownlee just flew past me but I was pleased with how the whole event went in the end and I really enjoyed it all,” added Turrell.

“I was sat on the train with a group from Belgium and it was a great opportunity to meet new people and sample different cultures.”

* Eurostar is the Official International Rail Services Provider to the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. Find out more about the world’s first ever Tri-City-Athlon or book tickets to travel on Eurostar by visiting http://www.eurostartricityathlon.com