The second of the sprint qualification races for the PruHealth World Triathlon Grand Final London took place in Bristol over the weekend.

James Wilson was the top man, crossing the line first in a time of 1 hour 01:23 and Katie Henderson was the top woman. Her impressive swim time put her right up with the top men and she held on to cross the line first and achieve her first big triathlon win with a time of 1 hour 08:15.

We caught up with Katie to find out more about her preparations for London. You can also view a video of the event here and the full results here.

Were you aiming to qualify for London?

Unfortunately entries for all this year's qualifiers closed before I had a chance to enter them and at the beginning of the year. However, I was on the reserve list and when I found out a month ago I’d actually got a place in the race I felt pretty lucky to have a second opportunity as my main aim was to qualify for London.

Did you know you were in the lead?

I was lucky enough to be in front after the swim and knew then that I just had to stay in front to win and luckily I did.

How did it feel to cross the line in first place?

The feeling of crossing the line in first place was amazing, especially as I had my mum, sister, new-born niece and best friend all there watching and saw me finish in the lead. I'm normally pretty well placed after the swim and then it's a case of 'catch me if you can' during the bike and the run and usually they do. So it was a huge surprise when no one did and I realised that I was actually going to win. It was such a good feeling and one I definitely want to have again!

What do you think about racing for the Great Britain Age-Group team in the World Champs in London?

I'm so excited about qualifying for the Great Britain Age-Group team in the World Champs in London! I didn't get to go to the World Champs in Auckland, last year as I missed the deadline to accept my place (common theme occurring here), even though id pre-qualified! I'm more on the ball this year and won't make that mistake again as I can't wait to get the opportunity to be able to race in front of a home crowd and on the same course as the Olympics.

What are your aims for London?

I think the competition this year will be a lot tougher than previous years as the sport is so much more popular than it was even a few years ago and also the fact that it is being held in the UK this time round makes it very attractive and accessible to everyone. This makes it really exciting to be part of and I thrive on the competition. 

I am going to be bold and say I would love to medal in both the Triathlon and the Aquathlon in London, having  raced and managed to come 3rd in the Sprint Triathlon at the World Champs in Beijing two years ago, it would be great to improve on that!

What would you say to others who are interested in qualifying for the GB Age-Group team in the future?

I would definitely encourage anyone who was interested to give it a go. Even if you don't think you have a chance, I would always say try as you never know what may happen and if you really want something enough and are prepared to work at it, it will happen. Most people are in the same position as you and have to fit their training in around a full time job, which is definitely possible and worth it to be able to represent your country and have such an awesome experience.

What other races do you have planned over the summer?

I am in the Elite wave for the Henley Swim Classic this weekend, Liverpool Olympic Triathlon qualifier in two weeks, Elite London Virgin Olympic Triathlon at the end of July, and National Relays at the end of August with my club TRI20.  I'm also hoping to do my first Half Ironman too.

What's your key strength in triathlon?

My background is in swimming which I have done for as long as I can remember and this is definitely my strength. However, I'm still not used to the cold water, not having my own lane or walls to push off from, and the free-for-all starts that are associated with open Water swimming in triathlons.

How did you get into it?

I got into triathlons about three years ago, as my previous workplace had a gym and they introduced some triathlon training sessions and I was encouraged to give it a go. The first one I did was a disaster, I didn't even finish and I ended up in St John’s ambulance.

Describe a typical training week?

I usually try and do on average about 12+ hours training a week, but this varies a lot depending on everything else that's going on at that time such as work, competitions and family/friend commitments.  I managed to injure my calf in February, which has been really frustrating and I have only just started to get back into running, so I've done more cycling than I normally do, but the key is to keep positive and consistent.

What's your job and how do you balance work and training?

I am currently working at the University of Reading in the admissions office and fit in all of my training before and after work and at the weekends. In order to do this I make myself get up at 4.45 to swim with Reading Swimming Club a couple of mornings a week and then drink a lot of coffee throughout the day once I'm at work!

What's your ultimate goal in triathlon?

In the short term I would love to win the World Championship Triathlon for my Age Group and in the long term, my ultimate goal would be to hopefully qualify for the 70.3 World Champs and represent GB for this distance.