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Sprint success at the British Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships

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The British Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships took place last weekend, with competitors all racing to win the coveted British titles at the Big Cow Sprint Triathlon on Sunday 27 May 2012.

The event was the fourth of eight British Age-Group Championships in 2012 and saw athletes race in the picturesque setting of Emberton Country Park in Buckinghamshire. Athletes completed a 750m swim, 20km bike around the undulating Buckinghamshire countryside and then a 5km run to finish.
 
Roger Witz Barnes (25-29) was the first male finisher across the line, completing the sprint distance course in 0:58.06. Roger who races for Manchester Triathlon Club is the current standard distance European champion after winning gold in Pontevedra last year. However, this performance highlights he is just as strong in the sprint distance events.
 
Roger won the event after a close race with David Bartlett (25-29) who finished in second place overall and in his age-group with a time of 0:58.08. David had the fastest swim split of the day, but lost ground on the bike before being beaten by just two seconds to the overall win by the Manchester based triathlete. Andy Tarry (40-44), a member of the Tricamp Race Team crossed the line in third place with a time of 0:58.20.
 
In the women’s event, Victoria Wilkinson (35-39) was the winner crossing the line in 01:05.27. Victoria won the  ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in 2006, but like her male equivalent Roger, the sprint distance win shows she now excels at the shorter distance too.
 
Louise Bardsley (30-34) improved on her fourth place finish in 2011, finishing second, recording the same time as the winner. Louise has already stepped onto the podium once already this season, having finished third overall in the British Duathlon Championships in March. Third place went to Stacey Penn (30-34) in 01:05.34. The podium finish is the second weekend in succession that Stacey has stepped onto the podium having finished first overall female at last weekend’s Eton Sprint Distance event, which like the Big Cow Sprint, was a qualifier for the 2012 Auckland ITU Sprint Triathlon World Championships.
 
The final opportunity to qualify for the GE Great Britain Age-Group Team following this weekend’s event will be the Bristol Harbourside Triathlon on 15 July 2012.
 
Results are available below:
 
 

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