Richmond’s Katherine Vile 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.

Vile, who suffers from ME, completed the 1,500m swim at the Bassin de la Villette in 21.09 minutes, the 40km bike ride in the park around King Baudouin I Stadium in 1.15.02 hours and the 10km run in Regents Park in 52.43 minutes to finish second-quickest woman and 49th overall.

Vile (below) said: “I was so pleased with how I did because I hadn’t even been very well in the build-up so I had missed lots of training,” said Vile.

“I just wanted to see how I would do but the swim was great and it really set me up for the rest of the day.

“I was quite tired by the end and it was a long day for everyone but I was delighted with how I did – it was much better than I ever expected.”

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.

Theo Rebeyrotte, of France, claimed the overall title.

Vile insists she’d be the first to put her hand up should the event return in 2011.

“I think it was a great event and it was something completely different to anything I had ever done before,” added Vile.

“It was great to compete against some great athletes.”

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 eurostartricityathlon.com