Mark Buckingham and Emma Pallant celebrated victory at London Triathlon on Sunday 3 August, the penultimate event of the 2014 British Triathlon Super Series.
The men’s elite race had a strong competitive field with more than 60 athletes signed up for the Olympic distance.
Mark Buckingham took first place in a time of 1:42.11, showing incredible pace throughout and really digging deep on the run. David Bishop followed 36 seconds later, securing a final time of 1:42.47, with Sam Wade completing the course in 1:44.54.
This was Mark’s second successive Super Series win after victory at Windsor and puts the UK Sport lottery funded World-Class Programme member is prime position for the overall title with just Tri Liverpool left to race this weekend.
An elated Buckingham remarked: “It’s been so much fun to race in our capital city with all my friends. I went out really hard on the run and just soaked up the atmosphere – the crowds were absolutely amazing.”
The female elite competition saw a leading group establish themselves on the swim, leaving eventual winner Emma Pallant and third-place finisher India Lee around 90 seconds behind the leaders. Pallant and Lee teamed-up to catch the leaders, with Pallant eventually getting to the front after a closely fought bike leg. Pallant then cruised her way to the finish, with a run time of 32 minutes 40 seconds.
With a final time of 1:57.17, Emma Pallant was more than a minute ahead of second place Kate Roberts who took her second silver medal in the last 10 days after her success in the Triathlon Mixed Relay for South Africa at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Shortly behind Roberts was India Lee who took a time of 1:58.46.
Pallant commented: “It was such a good race, with an incredible atmosphere. It was a little strange for all of us as at first as there’s not normally such a separation between us, especially in the swim. The bike was a bit cat and mouse but me and India drafted hard and managed to catch the pack in the end, I’m so pleased to come away with the win.”
The London Triathlon hosted elite triathletes, keen amateurs, celebrities, fundraisers and triathlon first-timers. With participants aged from 18-76, spanning 40 countries, the past 48 hours has seen nearly 13,000 competitors cross the finish line of the London Triathlon 2014 in front of an estimated 30,000 spectators.
Amongst the general entrants who kicked off this morning’s waves, The Gadget Show presenter Jason Bradbury finished his first Olympic distance triathlon alongside his two brothers.
Bradbury said: “I can’t even describe the sense of accomplishment, I feel euphoric. It’s been an amazing four months of training but finishing the Olympic distance triathlon itself was the perfect way to cap off my summer of triathlon.”