The Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon was held in Leeds this year on the 11th – 12th of June. Sharing the open water, roads and streets with the likes of the Brownlee Brothers Alistair and Jonny, and top female British triathletes Non Stanford, Vicky Holland and Jodie Stimpson, our club members did themselves proud.
Various events were on offer that weekend, with Alan and Anne Kellet both entered the GoTri on Saturday, a short novice distance comprising of a 200m open water swim, a 10k bike ride and a 2.5k run. This event is open to anyone, especially those who have never done a triathlon before, or for those who have little experience of open water swimming.
Anne had a great race, enjoyed it immensely (‘even the bike leg’), finishing 5th overall in a time of 1:03:57, only losing time when she stopped for a cup of tea in Transition 1.
Alan had a solid race getting the open water monkey off his back, finishing 6th male overall in a time of 0:53:01. In the sprint distance triathlon, Susan Brown finished 4th female overall. In the standard distance that preceded the elites, Graham Atkins finished, what seemed to him a long day, in a time of 1:25:14, 14th in his age group, Tracey Warrior crossed the line in 1:38:38 and Stuart Rimmer’s results sadly never surfaced, due to technical issues with the timing. Everyone enjoyed themselves regardless of the weather, which was dull, overcast and cold.
On the 18th June, a very cold Melanie Rowland (‘out of her comfort zone’) finished the Dambuster Triathlon 9th in her age group in a time of 2:55.00. We are all proud of her as this means she qualified for the ITU standard distance Triathlon World championships in Mexico.
At this year’s Amphibian Swim held on the 19th June, Dan Halladay finished the 5k open water swim in second place, finishing in a very respectable time of 1:15:01, while Susan Brown finished the shorter 2k swim in 3rd, in a time of 0:32:51.
That same day in the Lakesman Long Distance Triathlon, 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and a full marathon at 42km, Julie Hodds completed the course in a fantastic time of 14:19:21.
In the Catterick Sprint Triathlon, five club members participated, Shane Doe on his first ever triathlon. He finished 48th overall, 40th male in a time of 1:16:24, a great start for this novice triathlete.
One place behind him in 49th overall, 41st male, was Martin Sedgwick, who finished in a time of 1:16:30. Mickael Casey was 53rd overall, 97th male, in a time of 1:17:28, while Stuart Rimmer led the team home, finishing 31st overall, 28th male, in a time of 1:08:38.
The only lady entered that day was Tracey Warrior. She finished 59th overall, 13th female, in a time 1:18:26. Everyone had a great time in the perfect weather conditions.