Hitchin-based triathlon club Team Trisports were out in force at the Northampton Triathlon on Sunday as the race hosted the third and final round of their 2010 club championship.
Held over the Olympic distance of 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run the event course proved familiar to those who had competed at round one of the championship, as it was the same as venue, and saw the hottest day of the year matched by equally scorching performances from the 36 athletes taking part.
First up; defending champion and elite athlete Stephen Harrison, not competing in the club championship due to his elite status, finished a superb 2nd overall to add another podium finish to his 2009 victory. A blistering time of 1:53:38 saw Harrison finish just 10 seconds behind that of the race winner.
Turning to the club championship, all eyes were on Adam Laycock, the winner of the previous two rounds, to see if he could complete a hat-trick of victories and take an undefeated men’s title.
As it turned out, the presence of fellow veteran athlete and former elite racer Ian Mackerness meant that Laycock was denied a clean-sweep of championship victories; as Mackerness showed that he’d lost none of his Olympic distance pedigree to secure victory in a lightning-fast time of 2:06:5 and finish in 18th place overall.
There was plenty of consolation for Laycock however as he finished just one place behind in a time of 2:08:22 and with it secured the men’s title. The men’s podium was rounded out by Ironman specialist Gavin May who once again enjoyed a race long battle with Laycock to stop the clock just six seconds after in 2:08:28.
In the women’s race it looked to be much closer affair, with any one of three athletes capable of securing victory on race day. Whilst many were confident of predicting the top three finishers, the order was far from certain as the previous two rounds had seen some intensely close competition and a differing podium order each time.
Just as with the men’s race, there was a clear winner amongst the ladies with Gemma Sargent going below the 2:20 barrier for the first time and in the process taking the win. Kate Turner was next across the line in 2:24:44 to record three straight podium finishes. And in third place, Katy Jinks, deciding on a non-wetsuit swim, also made it three consecutive podium finishes with a time of with 2:26:13.
There was also considerable success for the club in the age-group competition with Sam Tophill, Lesley Dutton and Richard Melvern all securing wins in their respective age-groups. In the sprint race, held alongside the Olympic distance event, Brenda Bozwood-Davies also won her age-group.
And finally, the race marked the Olympic distance debut of Joel Farrow, who recorded a time of 2:34:01 in only his second ever triathlon.
Full results: Steve Harrison (1:53:38), Ian Mackerness (2:06:56), Adam Laycock (2:08:22), Gavin May (2:08:28), Chris Baxter (2:09:09), Steffan Ford (2:09:43), Rob Wilson (2:11:00), Charles Harris (2:17:21), Gemma Sargent (2:19:58), Peter Ryan (2:20:02), Lee Thorp (2:20:08), Richard Melvern (2:20:44), Kate Turner (2:24:44), Katy Jinks (2:26:13), Rob Davies (2:27:10), Simon Douglas (2:30:56), Michael Humphris (2:30:56), Max Lepoutre (2:30:56), Michael Clark (2:33:41), Joel Farrow (2:34:01), Anna Holden (2:34:33), Steve Moakes (2:37:52), Jackie Perry (2:38:13), Samantha Tophill (2:40:32), Naomi Woodland (2:40:55), Ed Manson (2:42:09), Mark Beaver (2:42:56), Richard Thomas (2:43:05), Ian Hobbs (2:43:19), Elodie Irving (2:46:13), Lesley Dutton (2:46:52), Keith Perry (2:48:15), Tim Smith (2:48:22), Mark Malone (2:54:39), Steve Mussett (2:55:37), Alyson Sprawson (2:56:48).
Taking on an even bigger challenge, Drew Lowrie took to the start line of Ironman France on Sunday to record his second ‘M-Dot’ event finish. The race, hosted in Nice, consisted of an epic 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 marathon run and saw Lowrie cross the line in a time of 13:31:37.
Also on Sunday, Steve Rust and Tracy Kennedy raced their first middle-distance event at the Day in the Lakes Tri, with Rust covering the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run in a time of 7:13:49 followed by partner Kennedy who stopped the clock at 7:37:05.
On Saturday, Darren Woodhall and Ian Hobbs competed at the Ironman River Arun Swim West Sussex 2010 and set times of 59:52 and 1:01:05 respectively.
A week earlier, Dil Wetheril came first in the Buntingford Triathlon. This was Wetheril’s second consecutive victory at the event and having led out of the swim, the remaining 6k off road bike and 3k off road run were soon dispatched on his way to a finishing time of 26:55.
And finally, Jeremy Lintott completed his first middle-distance triathlon at Ironman UK 70.3 on Sunday 20 June. The race, which is considered the toughest 70.3 event in the world, consisted of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike course – that featured no less than 52 hills – and an equally challenging 13.1 mile run leg that saw Lintott cross the line in a very respectable time of 6:20:56.