TWO siblings from the district have excelled at the Biathle World Championships in America.

Ponteland brothers Joseph (15) and Jack Anderson (17) performed in hot and humid conditions in St Petersburg, Florida, in the running and swimming event.

Joseph was part of the Great Britain team which was crowned world champions at U17 level, while he also won an individual bronze medal.

A time of 10m 46s in the final, in temperatures of 30C and humidity levels of over 97 per cent, was enough to earn Joseph a podium place.

He ran a slower time than he did in July, however, when he scooped two medals at the European Biathle Championships in Portugal.

But all competitors were affected by the heat and humidity.

Proud dad Cliff said: “We’re delighted with Joseph’s bronze medal. He feels as though he could have achieved silver, because he didn’t swim quite at the level he wanted to.”

Older sibling Jack, competing in his first season at U19 level, reached his final, and secured 11th place. It was an impressive showing for Jack, who has come back from a long-term injury which has restricted his training for much of the season.

The brothers qualified for the World Championships after excelling at the Great Britain National Championships, at Salford Quays, in August.

Jack’s twin sister Georgia (17) is also a talented biathle star. She narrowly missed out on qualification for the World Championships, and has also been beset with injury problems this season.

Nevertheless, all three siblings, who attend Ponteland High School, are highly rated. Joseph is the GB number one male at U17 level, Jack is number five male in the U19 age group, and Georgia is number two girl at U19 level.

Cliff added: “All three of them work tremendously hard and are very dedicated to their sport.

“Joseph knows what he needs to focus on over the winter as he looks to improve further next year. We are hoping that Jack and Georgia can keep themselves free of injury and build on the tremendous progress they have made so far.”