Britain’s Paratriathletes win three golds in Hyde Park

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Europe’s largest ever elite Paratriathlon race took part in Hyde Park today, and produced three gold medals for British athletes in an event featuring athletes from around Europe and the USA.

Iain Dawson continued his winning form from the European Championships. The visually impaired athlete was a winner by over three minutes from Leicester’s Haseeb Ahmad. Dawson was followed during his preparation and performance by a camera crew from BBC East, and will be featured on TV next week.

He said: “The Swim was fairly tough. Lots of people were trying to swim in between us I had to fight not to lose position. It was a good result, and a good stepping stone to the World Championships in September.�

Susanna Rodriguez of Spain won the equivalent women’s race in the Tri6 category. She said: “My race was ok, and it was a really nice venue, really well organised and I’m happy to be here in London with this opportunity to race. Lots of people were shouting your name, not just the British athletes but for everyone.�

Faye McClellend continued her fine season with another win. She was exactly one minute ahead of world champion, Clare Cunningham.

She said: “It’s brilliant, it feels fantastic and it’s nice to win it twice in a row. It was great coming through the carpeted area, it really gets you going.�

Britain’s third gold medallist was Stephen Judge in the Tri2 category, who was a convincing winner over Britain’s James Smith. He made a good start in the swim and biked well. Smith was the faster runner, but Judge was well ahead. France’s Cedric Farrudja was third, on a successful day that saw his countrymen win two gold medals and another bronze.

The USA matched Britain’s gold medal performance with three wins across the different categories.

Other medals for Great Britain included silver for David Cooke in the Tri1 category, silver for Jane Egan in Tri4 and bronze for Anna Turney in Tri1.