WATERSPORTS athletes who are considered two of the best in the world were spotting training in a reservoir near Colchester after their race was postponed.

Eric Amanda, from Colchester, and Paul Lawrence, from Holland-on-Sea, spent their Sunday on the calming Alton Water, located on the Shotley peninsula.

The stand-up paddleboard racers both listed inside the top 100 in the world for long distance, had been due to take part in a competition in Hullbridge.

High winds, however, saw the event cancelled at the last minute, so the pair decided to use the downtime to get some practise in instead.

Gazette:

Throughout the session they looked at where they could make improvements to their boarding while also addressing how they would handle worse case scenarios.

Jason Botelho, who sent photos in showing the two sportsman gliding across the waters, said: “Unfortunately their race was postponed because of high winds.

“However, the local pair put the day to good use by getting extra training in, perfecting their turns and including important safety skills such as self-rescues.”

Eric and Paul are next set to take to the water on March 12 when they will take part in a hotly-contested paddleboard race at Trifarm near Chelmsford.