Enniskillen born tri-athlete, Gavin Noble, is looking to do what no other Irish man has done to date, compete in an Olympic Triathlon.

Over the next few months Gavin is entering a vital stage as he bids to gain enough qualification points to qualify for the start line in Beijing next year.

And the Fermanagh Herald will be with him every step of the way.

Last weekend Gavin gained a highly respectful sixth place in the Triathlon Cup in Split, Croatia.

Theses are Gavin's words on the race;

Swim - my best of the year so far - I got clean start and was in 3rd and cruising at the first bouy - no fighting, clear blue waters, I almost enjoyed it. Seven of us got out and were clear by about 45seconds.

Bike - the course in the national park was a hilly affair on a very uneven surface - it was in my interests to work hard and stay away so I did quite a lot of work, never missing a turn - some of the others weren't prepared to put it on the line which annoyed me a bit - trying to hide and only coming through so as not to be dropped out of the dead turn - so with only 3 of us doing anything we were caught by a large group at about 32k. That meant 40 guys getting off the bike and running.

Run - it was 35degrees so I was conscious of going out too hard - the group went out at about 3min/k pace - I nervously watched them move away .......that's when Mr Voice comes in - We all know Mr Voice - we don't listen to him always; we shut him out. But there are certain moments when he demands to be heard. One of those times as a sportsman is when your standing on the start line. He calls out and you have to listen. If he's your friend its ok; but if he's your enemy, well, 'your wrecked' - Mr Voice has been my friend of late - telling me positive things on the start line and in the build up - on the run in Croatia he was with me again - 'run your own race he said, don't go out too hard; your feeling good; your catching them; your still feeling good' .. at 2.5k I was 21st - then they started to blow - Mr Voice and I got faster every lap as others died. 17th at 5k; 10th at 7.5k - 6th in the end.

I was a bit annoyed with that - I never like it when I cross the line thinking I could maybe have gone faster - I think I was too conservative maybe - but then you don't know - if I hadn't of listened to Mr Voice and gone out slightly faster then maybe id have blown at 8k and finished 8th? or maybe I could have got 4th ? Maybe, what if ...... I hate thinking like that -

Still, 6th is decent; I beat who I had to beat in terms of rankings. I cant be disappointed. Overall Mr Voice was probably right and we did a good job.

This weekend Gavin and Mr Voice are off to the World Triathlon Championships in Hamburg and he will need all the positive words and motivation to recover in just six days for another gruelling days racing.

Read 'Tracking Gavin' next week to find out how Fermanagh's Olympic hopeful gets on and if he is any nearer to his qualification dream.