Non Stanford believes the future of British triathlon is in safe hands after competing in her final major international race in Munich.

The Welsh star, 33, was crowned European women’s champion at the multi-sport event on Friday before turning her attention to the mixed team relay event 48 hours later.

She joined forces with inexperienced trio Iona Miller, Hamish Reilly and Ben Dijkstra but was unable to haul herself back onto the podium as they slogged their way to a 12th-place finish.

Stanford will retire at the end of this season but insists Miller, 23, Reilly, 19, and Dijkstra, 23, have all the tools required to pick up the baton and follow in her footsteps.

She said: “I am really proud of these guys.

“They definitely left it all out there and stepping up to the senior level is really tough.

“You have to make mistakes in order to grow and in order to learn, so many mistakes they did make, they will take them and learn for the future.

“I know all of them have got great careers ahead of them, so this is just the start.

“I’m really proud of them, happy to be here and happy to compete with them.”

Britain were well off the pace of France, Germany and Switzerland as their more experienced teams completed the podium in Munich.

But they did claw back a 28 second gap on the Czech Republic to leap into 12th, restore an element of pride and help Stanford go out with a ‘bang’.

The Bridgend ace added: “I think whenever you are representing Great Britain, you go out there and you put it all out there no matter what position you are in.

“The thing with the team is you never know what is going to happen in front of you, so you just have to keep pushing all the time.

“I wanted to go out with a bang, I wanted to go out there and leave it all out for these guys as well.

“That’s the motivation – there’s no point in going out there and spinning around.”

Triathlon was one of nine sports hosting their European Championships in Munich as athletics takes centre stage today after cycling, rowing and gymnastics also featured over the weekend.

Fans flocked en masse to Munich’s 1972 Olympic Park and Stanford says she loved getting a slice of the atmosphere.

“The crowd was amazing,” she added.

“They were cheering us all, especially of course the front guys and that definitely helps.

“The whole weekend in Munich has been amazing – we have all been blown away by the support and the atmosphere and the show that Munich has put on.”

The multi-sport European Championships Munich 2022, featuring Athletics, Beach Volleyball, Canoe Sprint, Cycling, Gymnastics, Table Tennis, Triathlon, Rowing, Sport Climbing, takes place 11th-21st August on the 50th anniversary of the Olympics Games in the Germany city. Watch daily live coverage across BBC One, Two, Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website