The Inter-Regional Championship (IRC) is the highpoint of the season for young triathletes in the categories Tristar 2 (aged 11/12) and Tristar 3 (aged 13/14).
The competition takes place as part of the British Triathlon Under 20’s Festival at Strathclyde Country Park, Glasgow on 4th September.
The standard of the event is exceptionally high with only the best youngsters in the country competing as each of the 12 British Triathlon regions selects three boys and three girls in each age-group.
London region selects its team based on triathlon results in the London Junior Series. That concluded recently with Trinity Triathlon, and so the 2016 London Team has been announced as the following:
• TS2 Boys
Christo Chilton (Crystal Palace Triathletes)
Oliver Emment
Louis Woods (Greenwich Tritons)
Reserve: Chris Hardy
• TS2 Girls
Cerys Howells (Thames Turbo)
Maisie Jenson (Comet)
Anna Hadingham (Greenwich Tritons)
Reserve: Sophia Kirkman (Greenwich Tritons)
• TS3 Boys
Matyas Sinko
Jacob Patterson (Optima Race Team)
Brett Baker (Greenwich Tritons)
Reserve: Mack Downey (Comet)
• TS3 Girls
Jessica Mayer
Ella Peters (Jetstream)
Lottie Hull (Crystal Palace Triathletes)
Reserve: Fenella Challinor (Thames Turbo)
11 year old Ollie Emment (left) brings excellent bike/run speed to triathlon, and this year has complemented that with some fine swims that were crucial to him making the team.
He said, “I am very excited to be representing London in the IRCs. I just missed out on being reserve last year so I have been working extra hard all year, especially on my swimming, to get in the team this year. I have made some good friends over the season and I think we have a really strong team going to Scotland”.
Anna Hadingham (12) from Greenwich Tritons raced consistently well throughout the season and is thrilled to have been selected for the London team:
“In T2 last year I made Top 20 in the London League, so this year I was aiming for Top 10. I was determined to train hard and improve my ranking, but it only became apparent to me that I was in with a chance of squad qualification after I'd finished Steelman at Eton Dorney. I tried to learn from every race, and am thrilled to have been selected. I'm really excited to be part of the 2016 London IRC team."
The 2016 London team is comparatively young with half the selected athletes remaining eligible to compete in the same category in 2017, and so to even match the 2015 team finish place of 8th would be an excellent achievement.
The London team will again be managed by Ed Simpson from Greenwich Tritons.
Ed said: “Congratulations to all of the team who have worked so hard to gain selection for the IRCs where they will be racing against the best junior triathletes in the country. The standard of racing in the London region qualification events was incredibly high so I’m really excited about our prospects for Strathclyde. I’m looking forward to working with the team at our training sessions in August.”
Further information on the 2016 IRCs, London results/reports from past years, and contact details are available on the home page HERE
Written by Jim Desmond, London Region Junior Coordinator
