The UK’s elite juniors and paratriathletes were racing in Llanelli, South Wales on Saturday (16 May), with the latter vying for spots at the ETU European Championships and ITU World Championships.
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>>> Britain’s pioneering approach to elite paratriathlon training
The elite juniors started off the proceedings on Saturday morning featuring Britain’s top under-20 performers. Athletes raced over the sprint distance in order to decide who will be put forward for ETU European Cup and Championship selections.
Top of the class in the junior elite women’s race was British Junior Duathlon Champion, Kate Waugh. The 16-year-old saw off competition from NYP Tri’s Bronwen Owen to finish in 1:05:47 over the sprint distance course. Owen was just over a minute adrift of Waugh, crossing the line in 1:06:56, with Olivia Matias taking the final podium spot with 1:07:04.
Jimmy Kershaw led from the start of the race and put in a strong all-round performance to win in 58:11. Ben Dijkstra had to settle for second on this occasion, the recent London Mini Marathon champion coming home in 58:35. Bronze went to James Teagle in 58:51, rounding off an all East-Midlands podium.
Paratriathlon
Paratriathlon was in the spotlight from 4pm, where athletes were looking to finish in the top two of their category in order to be put forward for selection for the ETU European Championships and ITU World Championships.
ITU World Champion, Alison Patrick, guided by Hazel Smith, won the PT5 title pushed along by competition from international medallist Melissa Reid. She managed a solid victory in very windy conditions that made tandem riding a challenge for the new pairing.
Alison said: “Hazel and I had a really good swim and bike and just tried to keep it steady on the run today. We were first out of the water, which I’m really happy with, and I felt strong during the bike. I can’t wait for the rest of my season now.”
PT4 world champion, Lauren Steadman achieved a convincing win and British title. The former Paralympic swimmer used her speed to her advantage against Clare Cunningham to gain an early lead and held on to finish 6 minutes clear in 1:12:32.
Lauren said; “I really enjoyed it and felt strong the whole way. I was expecting at some point to feel it start to hurt, but I had a good swim, pushed hard on the bike and then ran it home.
“With great race locations like Geneva, Rio and Chicago to come this year, there’s going to be some great competition ahead and hopefully it will push me even further.”
George Peasgood put on a fine display to win the men’s PT4 category in 1:07:18. He said; “It was a cracking race. I wanted to get away on the swim and just hold it as best as I could.
“My swim has improved a lot over the last six months with me training in Loughborough. The bike has always been my favourite discipline and the run is where I usually get caught, so it was great to hold on to it today and pick up my first national win.”
In the men’s PT1 race, it was world silver medallist, Phil Hogg, who won the battle between himself and Joe Townsend. Derby’s Hogg finished two and half minutes ahead of his close friend and rival in 1:09:02.
Elsewhere, Russell White took the men’s PT3 title in 1:19:31 and Chris Goodwin claimed men’s PT5 in 1:11:12. Women’s PT1 went to Lizzie Tench with 1:35:48 and PT2 gold was picked up by Emily Harris.
For full results of the British Triathlon Junior Gateway event, head here. And for the Paratriathlon event, visit here.
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Record numbers of athletes headed to Snowdonia over the weekend for the 2015 instalment of iconic race the Slateman Triathlon, drawn by vibrant mountain landscapes, challenging quarry trails and a glistening, freshwater lake.
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>>> Slateman 2014 race action
Day one saw more than 500 triathletes embark on the Slateman Triathlon Sprint event. The first day also included the Slateman Junior race where over 170 youths participated.
On Saturday Andrew Nash and Ruth Purbrook emerged as individual winners of the men and women Slateman Tri Sprint, after storming around the course in a time of 1:10:29 and 1:21:06 respectively.
The sprint in Llanberis consisted a 400m Padarn lake swim, 20km bike leg – which took in the beast-climb that is the Llanberis Pass – and a scenic but demanding 6km trail run in the quarries above the race village.
Nash went on to dominate the field, winning with over 3mins to spare. Second place went to Kieren John, with Dan Gennazzini claiming third.
There was a shock in the women’s race as The Manchester Tri athletes who had dominated last years sprint were beaten into first place by Ruth Purbrook.
Purbrook produced a scintillating performance to finish in first place ahead of last year’s winner Pauline May (Manchester Tri) and Kate Morris who finished second and third place respectively.
The race was decided when Purbrook displayed her sheer power and quality in the bike leg were she produced a scintillating time of 42:08, over 2mins quicker than any other female competitor.
Slateman Full
After 500m of swimming, 51km on the bike and closing with an epic 11km trail run, it was 2014 winner Ewan Brown who emerged victorious in Sunday’s men’s race with an incredible time of 2:16:22. Brown beat Lewis Eccleston who finished in second place and Alex Foster, who finished third.
Last year’s women’s winner Suzie Richards also regained her Slateman Triathlon Champion title, although it wasn’t all plain sailing as Natalie Seymour pushed her all the way to finish line.
Richards’ unbelievable time of 2:36:54 proved to be enough to keep Seymour at bay who finished just 47secs behind. Slateman Savage sprint winner Ruth Purbrook finished in third to complete the women’s podium.
Mark Palmer was the quickest athlete completing the legendary Kinetica Quarryman challenge with a sensational time of 09:14. Palmer was rewarded for his amazing effort with loads of Kinetica goodies!
Slateman Savage
This year saw the introduction of the Slateman Savage, in which competitors raced over both days in the Sprint and the Full distance races.
The winner of the Slateman Savage in the male category was Dan Gennazzini, who produced and extraordinary time of 03:50:28.
The winner of the Savage in the women’s category was Ruth Purbrook, who completed the eye-watering challenge in 04:02:58.
“Wow, what a weekend! The Slateman was the first ever event Always Aim High Events organised. In the first year we had around 400 athletes participating, so to see over 2,200 athletes come to Llanberis over the weekend is something to be really proud of,” said events director Tim Lloyd.
“The race action across the weekend was superb. All the winners were worthy of their titles. I want to reserve special congratulations to Ewan and Suzie who retained their Slateman Triathlon title; it really is a great achievement.
They’ve set themselves up nicely for the Sandman and Snowman to really kick on and challenge for the Always Aim Tri-series, which will see the champion fly to the beautiful Caribbean Island of Nevis and compete in the Nevis Triathlon.”
For full results head here.
(All pics: Mel Parry)
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Despite hot and humid conditions, British pro Joe Skipper put in the race of his life at Ironman Texas last Saturday (16 May) to claim third place, posting the third-fastest Ironman bike split in history – 4:10:07.
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The men’s race started with Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), and Ben Hoffman (USA) taking the early lead on the swim at Lake Woodlands. It was Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), Faris Al-Sultan (GER), and Jeremy Jurkiewicz (FRA) who entered T1 first however, just slightly ahead of Hoffman and Andreas Raelert (GER).
By the halfway point, Hoffman’s strong riding put him back at the front, with Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Joe Skipper (GBR) behind him. Sanders and Skipper eventually bridged the gap to Hoffman, putting their race-best bike splits to use, with Skipper taking the lead shortly afterwards.
Once out onto the run, Sanders chiseled away patiently at Skipper’s lead, but it was Matt Hanson (USA) who upped the pace and took the lead after the halfway point, with Skipper holding fast and Sanders eventually struggling from the heat and fading.
Hanson’s course-record 8:07:04 landed him the win and a ticket to the Ironman World Championship in October, as Skipper finished in second and Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) working his way into third.
2012 Kona champ Leanda Cave (GBR) and 2013 Kona runner-up Rachel Joyce (GBR) led the swim from the start, with Katy Blakemore (USA) joining the leaders 15mins in to the swim. Into the canal, the three leaders had a minute on the rest of the field.
Out onto the rolling bike course, Joyce and Cave played cat and mouse up until around the halfway point, when Angela Naeth (CAN), blazed to the front. Naeth barely managed to hold off Cave through the end of the bike, beating her into T2 by only a few seconds. Joyce entered 2:10mins back, losing a minute in the last 10mins of the bike. Corinne Abraham (GBR) stole the show on the bike with her race-best 4:40hr split.
Naeth headed out of T2 onto the run first with Cave following. Abraham started the run with a 3:30min deficit off the leaders, with Rachel Joyce almost five minutes back. Naeth and Cave ran shoulder to shoulder until mile five, when Cave began to falter and Naeth seized the opportunity to pull away – a lead she’d go on to extend by about two minutes. Cave held strong for second while Rachel Joyce managed to fend off a fading field behind her to take the final podium place.
For full results head to www.ironman.com/texas.
Did you race Ironman Texas? Let us know in the comments below!
Despite hot and humid conditions, British pro Joe Skipper put in the race of his life at Ironman Texas last Saturday (16 May) to claim silver, breaking the course bike record along the way with a 4:10:07 split.
The men’s race started with Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), and Ben Hoffman (USA) taking the early lead on the swim at Lake Woodlands. It was Todd Skipworth (AUS), Barrett Brandon (USA), Faris Al-Sultan (GER), and Jeremy Jurkiewicz (FRA) who entered T1 first however, just slightly ahead of Hoffman and Andreas Raelert (GER).
By the halfway point, Hoffman’s strong riding put him back at the front, with Lionel Sanders (CAN) and Joe Skipper (GBR) behind him. Sanders and Skipper eventually bridged the gap to Hoffman, putting their race-best bike splits to use, with Skipper taking the lead shortly afterwards.
Once out onto the run, Sanders chiseled away patiently at Skipper’s lead, but it was Matt Hanson (USA) who upped the pace and took the lead after the halfway point, with Skipper holding fast and Sanders eventually struggling from the heat and fading.
Hanson’s course-record 8:07:04 landed him the win and a ticket to the Ironman World Championship in October, as Skipper finished in second and Ronnie Schildknecht (SUI) working his way into third.
Thanks @UKRotor @boardman_bikes and @endura for giving me great kit that helped me get the bike course record and 2nd pic.twitter.com/2aMmlSriN9
— Joe Skipper (@joe_skipper88) May 17, 2015
Women’s race
2012 Kona champ Leanda Cave (GBR) and 2013 Kona runner-up Rachel Joyce (GBR) led the swim from the start, with Katy Blakemore (USA) joining the leaders 15mins in to the swim. Into the canal, the three leaders had a minute on the rest of the field.
Out onto the rolling bike course, Joyce and Cave played cat and mouse up until around the halfway point, when Angela Naeth (CAN), blazed to the front.
Naeth barely managed to hold off Cave through the end of the bike, beating her into T2 by only a few seconds. Joyce entered 2:10mins back, losing a minute in the last 10mins of the bike. Corinne Abraham (GBR) stole the show on the bike with her race-best 4:40hr split.
Naeth headed out of T2 onto the run first with Cave following. Abraham started the run with a 3:30min deficit off the leaders, with Rachel Joyce almost five minutes back.
Naeth and Cave ran shoulder to shoulder until mile five, when Cave began to falter and Naeth seized the opportunity to pull away – a lead she’d go on to extend by about two minutes.
Cave held strong for second while Rachel Joyce managed to fend off a fading field behind her to take the final podium place.
For full results head to www.ironman.com/texas.
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The International Triathlon Union confirmed overnight that Leeds will host a round of the World Triathlon Series next summer, with the date and full series schedule to be confirmed after the forthcoming ITU World Triathlon in Hyde Park on the last weekend in May.
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The event will take the place of the event in London, as Hyde Park will be under construction in 2016 to allow for the building of a cycling superhighway throughout the city.
Leeds was put forward by British Triathlon, supported by UK Sport, as Britain’s candidate city following a bid to host the event led by Leeds City Council, with backing from Sport Leeds, Welcome to Yorkshire and other key stakeholders.
Forget San Diego, Sydney, Lausanne, Kona etc. Welcome @worldtriathlon to the real home of triathlon. #WTSLEEDS
— Alistair Brownlee (@AliBrownleetri) May 19, 2015
The elite men’s and women’s races will take place over the Olympic distance, starting in Roundhay Park with a 1500m swim and finishing in the heart of city after a 40-kilometre bike ride and 10-kilometre run.
As always there will also be age–group races taking place, giving those who qualify the chance to race on the same course as the pros. There will also be a number of ‘cultural activities’ taking place over the weekend of the races to support the event.
Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee, as well as Leeds-based stars Vicky Holland and former ITU world champion, Non Stanford, are relishing the prospect of racing in front of packed crowds and an atmosphere similar to the unforgettable Tour de France Grand Départ and the recent Tour de Yorkshire.
Jonny Brownlee said: “Having an ITU World Triathlon Series event in Leeds is like a dream come true in many respects. To race at the highest level in the city where I grew up and have done all of my triathlon training is something that I’m already excited about.”
Former world champion Non Stanford, who also trains in Leeds, said: “To see an ITU World Triathlon Series event come to Leeds as we build towards Rio will be fantastic. I am sure it will be an amazing spectator event, and the fact that amateurs can take part on the same course will make it even more memorable.”
The ITU also announced Gold Coast as the host of the 2018 World Triathlon Series Grand Final Event, and will shortly be announcing the full list of host cities for the 2016 and 2017 World Series races.
The Australian city of Gold Coast is to host the 2018 World Triathlon Series Grand Final, after successfully returning to triathlon’s top-flight calendar this year.
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>>> WTS Gold Coast 2015 – in pics
The decision was made at an ITU Executive Board meeting held in conjunction with last weekend’s WTS Yokohama, the Queensland city commonly known as a ‘surfer’s paradise’ will also host WTS events in the intervening years of 2016 and 2017.
The ITU also confirmed that the UK city of Leeds will replace Hyde Park, London on the 2016 WTS circuit, due in part to the fact that Hyde Park will be under construction in 2016 to allow for the building of a cycling superhighway throughout the capital.
In addition to the World Triathlon Series announcements, the ITU Executive Board voted on several multisport championship events. In 2017, Penticton, Canada will organise the first Multisport World Championships Festival, which will see duathlon, long distance triathlon, aquathlon and cross triathlon championship races taking place together during a week-long festival.
This ground-breaking event now allows for athletes to compete in various multisport races, as opposed to electing only one each season. In addition to the 2017 Multisport Festival, the Executive Board awarded the 2018 edition to Odense, Denmark.
In the final year that will see each multisport World Championships organised as stand-alone events, Lake Crackenback, Australia has been announced as the site of the 2016 ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships.
Anne Gripper, CEO of Triathlon Australia, said “This is fantastic news for the sport of triathlon in Australia. To have the world’s best elite and age group athletes competing on the Gold Coast in 2018, as well as in the magnificent Snowy Mountains at Cross Triathlon World Championships in 2016, provides Australian triathletes of all ages with a great incentive to train and compete over the next three years as they strive to wear the green and gold on home soil.”
ITU will shortly release the bidding conditions for the 2016 Triathlon World Cup events, the 2017 World Triathlon Series races, the 2019 World Triathlon Grand Final, and the 2019 Multisport Festival. The full 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series will also be announced soon.
(Main image: Delly Carr / ITU)
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Eton SuperSprints returned to Dorney Lake last weekend, marking the start of many people’s 2015 triathlon season with a two-day event that offered a range of events from the kids’ Scootathlon to the adults’ races.
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Saturday started with the first LittleLife Scootathlon (390m scoot/390m bike/250m run), with 100 kids taking part. The children’s efforts were rewarded with a t-shirt and medal giving them all fantastic bragging rights at school the following week!
Having had all winter to cool down, Dorney Lake greeted the adult triathletes with a less than balmy 14 degrees. The intrepid first wave struggled with the temperature to begin with but soon got into their stride as they swam fast to keep warm.
Patrick Tierney stormed to victory in the men’s race with the only sub-1 hour time of the day, completing the 400m swim, 21.2k bike and 5k run in 58.58. Unusually for triathlon, it was the swim that made the difference on the day.
It may have been the fact that the wind had dropped by the time the final wave reserved for Ful-on-Tri triathletes took to the water, making the lake significantly less choppy than the first wave at 9.30am, but 5:36mins for the 400m swim was an impressive time even in calm waters.
Second place went to George Eyles who just missed out finishing in under an hour, crossing the line in 1:00:12. Richard Curling, also of Ful-on-Tri took third place honours in 1:00:30 and had the added satisfaction of having the fastest T2 transition time of 41 seconds making him the proud winner of the T2 trainer’s prize, courtesy of Zoot.
Over in the female race, Ful-on-Tri were a class above the competition, taking four of the top five places. Sarah Lewis, who came 13th overall on the day, was the fastest female, completing the course in 1:04:21. Lewis’ swim of 5:26 was the fastest overall on the day, and the only sub-20 minutes for a female on the run course made her a very worthy winner.
Christina Jenkins, also of Ful-on-Tri, took second place in 1:06:12. Tamsin Neale was third across the line finishing in an impressive 1:08:56: she was also the fastest female in T2 transition across the weekend making her the lucky winner of a pair of Zoot trainers.
Super Sunday
Almost 700 triathletes were welcomed on Sunday by glorious blue skies and sunshine at Dorney Lake for day two of the Garmin Eton SuperSprints.
Following Saturday’s format, the Super Sprint consists of a 400m swim, 21.2km bike and 5km run. Despite only one distance on offer, the event attracts a mix of seasoned athletes looking to test their legs after a gruelling winter of training as well as many first timers looking to take advantage of the short swim distance as a way to dip their toes into the world of triathlon.
Before the triathlon waves kicked off, the real stars of the show headed to the start line, with their helmets firmly on and their scooters at the ready. It was of course the start of the increasingly popular LittleLife Scootathlon, an event for 4-8 year olds who scoot 390m and cycle 390m before running the 250m to the finish line where they receive their special Scootathlon medal.
The big kids (7-8 year olds) were first off, showing their younger siblings how it should be done. Race Director Matt Brooke who was leading the way for the young athletes had his work cut out keeping ahead of the field. Two more waves; the 6 year olds and then the 4-5 year olds then proceeded. In total we saw over 100 children take part, which is very exciting news for the sport of triathlon.
Next came the adults’ triathlon races, with nine waves throughout the day. The first three consisted of Mates Waves, which allows friends and family to take part together regardless of age and sex. The remaining waves were split by age and gender.
In the men’s race there was less than 1 minute between the top three finishers, but only one man broke the awe-inspiring 1 hour barrier and that was last year’s 3rd place athlete, David Hill, who powered home in 59:48. Just missing out on the sub 1 hour club by 7 tenths of a second, and finishing in a very impressive 2nd was Harrison Smith who crossed the line in 1:00.07. Close behind him was Richard Bull who took bronze position with a time of 1:00.31.
Young athletes stole the show in the women’s race with two under 17’s finishing in the top three. First to finish was Kathryn Bell in a time of 1:12.28. There was very little between the silver and bronze positions with Tracey Hare crossing the line in 1:13.13 and Emily Bannister in 1:13.33.
A special mention goes to Elle Linton who overcame her fear of the open water and, after a very nervous start, went on to conquer her fear and finish the course in a very respectful time.
No-one could challenge the speedy T2 times set by Saturday’s triathletes, so Richard Curling of Ful-on-Tri (41 seconds) and Tamsin Neale (47 seconds) were the weekend’s winners of brand new Zoot trainers.
The Eton Sprints and the Mixed Distance Tri are heading to Dorney Lake next weekend (23/24 May), and organisers Human Race will also be bringing the 25th Windsor Triathlon to the banks of the Thames on 14 June.
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German pro Faris Al-Sultan has retired from top-flight triathlon after 18 years in the sport, calling it a day after dropping out from Ironman Texas last weekend with pain in his hamstrings.
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Speaking to commentator Bob Babbitt’s Babbittville Radio, Al-Sultan said he’s been “struggling more with the injuries than actually training.”
He added: “The most important thing is your brain – if you’re mentally no longer there to really be there 100 percent, then it’s hard. Yesterday I realised that, ‘OK, I’ve had so many bad races, and I can’t stand having one more bad race.’”
We’d like to wish a happy retirement to 2005 IRONMAN World Champ Faris Al-Sultan! Thank you for a memorable 18 years. pic.twitter.com/4voZCKuHqS
— IRONMAN Triathlon (@IRONMANtri) May 19, 2015
He did say that he may do a few more short-distance races this summer, but other than that is undecided whether to move into triathlon coaching or something else entirely separate from the sport.
Al-Sultan has a string of top-flight results to his name, including winning the Ironman World Champs in Kona in 2005, taking silver at the same race in 2004 and 2006, and more recently winning the Ironman European Championships in Frankfurt in 2011.
Now established as one of the most popular races on the UK race calendar, the Jenson Button Trust Triathlon is moving to Derby from its previous home in Luton Hoo, Bedfordshire to accommodate more people.
There’s also going to be a £7,000 prize purse on offer, with £1,000 on the table for both the male and female overall winners. We caught up with the F1 ace to discuss the move…
So why Derby?
Triathlon’s massive up there and they love their sport, which is great. Especially cycling. It’s just nice having it somewhere different.
And also it can become a bigger event, not in terms of participants, because we still want to keep it a family thing, but in terms of people watching and being a part of it.
You’re big on the festival element of a race. Why’s this?
I feel a lot of triathlons are great if you want to go there and race, but it’s arrive, do your thing and leave, which can also be a massive comedown.
It’s nice to have the festival vibe where there’s a band afterwards, there’s a BBQ and people hang around. I think that makes the event and keep people interested in the event.
Was the race modelled on any other event?
Lavaman in Hawaii, an Olympic-distance. I did that one a few years ago with friends and there was a BBQ and a band. I was like this is just wicked!
I thought it was such a great idea. And it’s a great way for people to have fun and hopefully raise as much money as we can for Cancer Research.
Any plans to expand?
We’ve had a couple of people talk to us about expanding it, and having it in different countries, but I think you’ve just got to be very careful. As with anything, expanding too quickly you lose the main focus, which is people having a good time.
And it’s not a money-making business for us, it’s seeing people have a good time and also raising as much money as we can. I think Macca’s going to do something similar in Australia. He did the race last year and he really enjoyed it… I think he enjoyed the beers in the evening more than anything, though!
Do you have a finishing time in mind?
Well this year I’m actually going to train for it! I’ve never trained specifically for it before. It’s actually really good, really short stuff, just an hour and a half on the bike, I’m used to like four, five hours. But it’s going to hurt a lot!
Hopefully it’ll be better than the last few years because I keep having problems – I had a puncture last year, I wore my missus’ wetsuit two years before that which didn’t fit and I had a bit of a panic attack… so it’s not been the best race for me. Everyone else seems to have a great time, I don’t!
For more information on the Jenson Button Trust Triathlon head to www.jensonbuttontri.com.
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The Challenge Family Americas season kicked-off with Challenge Knoxville last weekend at the site of the 1982 World’s Fair Park in Tennessee.
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After being subjected to days of southern humidity and heat in pre-race week, athletes were greeted with rain-soaked skies on the Sunday morning as they waited on the banks of the mighty Tennessee River for the 1.5km and 1.9km swim starts.
In the Half Distance pro race where athletes vied for a 25k Euro prize purse, the victory was a repeat of sorts for winner Cameron Dye, as the Boulder, Colorado, native is a former champion of the Rev3 Olympic Distance Triathlon, the prior pro race contested on this course.
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In the women’s race, American Lesley Smith used a never-give-up attitude to come from behind, running her way through the pack nearly seven minutes faster than any other female to nab the lead within the last few hundred yards ahead of Canada’s Rachel McBride.
Andy Lewis, 32, started his tri career just last year as a member of Triathlon England’s talent squad before graduating into the GB paratriathlon squad.
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A former cross country runner for Gloucestershire and a boxing coach for three years, Andy recently won bronze in the PT2 category (see classifications below) at the Madrid ITU World Paratriathlon Event.
How does the set-up in Loughborough work with you?
I currently attend Loughbourgh five days a week and it works quite well. It’s great to be around the team and have access to the coaches and experts to ensure I get what I need.
How important is the Hub to you?
It’s so important to have this facility. For me, I’m very motivated but I find training at the hub pushes me even further.
What would qualifying for the Paralympics mean to you?
I, along with many others, have made massive sacrifices – giving up my job, leaving my home and family (wife and two children) at home, so qualifying would mean the world to us.
It’s a hard hill to climb and I’m currently at the bottom making my way through the trees. We have to remember that I only started triathlon one year ago so getting points and on starts lists now is the most important thing for me.
With no precedent for tri in the Paralympics, how are you approaching this huge race target?
>>> Three more paratriathlon medal events for Rio 2016
Taking every day one step at a time, really. I don’t know what to expect to be honest, some of the guys have been to the Paralympics before but for me it’s such a big thing. I just can’t focus on it right now as there are so many things that need resolving first.
For me it will be to improve all aspects of my performance taking each one very seriously. My main goal this year is to qualify for the Worlds and Europeans, but the PT2 cat is so new that we’re currently chasing points to make this happen. We (me and Ryan Taylor) can only do our best and hope that we get GB points.
Do you have a nemesis in your category?
For me, every competitor deserves respect to be competing at that level with a disability. But when the horn goes on race day, it’s just me, my bike and my blade.
What would you say are your biggest strengths and weaknesses in paratri?
I’m very focused on what I want. I’m a big team player but my strengths lie in my planning and motivation. I’ve made massive gains in the swim.
My weakness is possibly worrying about things I can’t control. However with the support of Steve Casson my coach I can refocus my energy very quickly.
How much does your disability affect you in training?
Due to me using my good leg a lot it becomes very tired and has to be managed very carefully. But I also suffer quite badly with sores on my stumps.
I don’t get funding or sponsorship for my prosthetics so when this happens I need to spend a lot of time getting it right.
How do you balance family, work and training?
This is the hardest thing for me to manage, as I find leaving my family at times of need really difficult. My wife has been so strong with me but trying to explain to a one-year-old that daddy has to go away is hard.
I gave up my job to become a full-time athlete (something I never thought I could say), so my family know why I’m doing it. But as a dad, sometimes I wish I could do normal dad things, it’s just hard to fit it all in.
Who or what inspires you most on a bad training day?
Hard one that. I would say when I’m in Loughbourgh and I’m not having a bad day, Joe Townsend. We get along really well and he always makes me laugh.
But when I’m at home it’s my wife and kids. Coming home after a bad day and seeing their faces always makes me smile.
Paralympic category classifications
PT1 Wheelchair users. Athletes use a recumbent handcycle on the bike course and a racing wheelchair on the run segment.
PT2 Athletes with comparable activity limitation and an impairment of, but not limited to, limb deficiency, hypertonia, ataxia and/or athethosis, impaired muscle power or range of movement. In both bike and run segments, amputee athletes may use approved prosthesis or other supportive devices.
PT4 As above but with less severe impairment.
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PT5 Total or partial visual impairment, competes with a guide.