European Long Distance Triathlon Gold for Joe Skipper in The Netherlands

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Great Britain’s Age-Group athletes also strike Gold, Silver and Bronze in Almere

Challenge Almere-Amsterdam is second only to the IRONMAN World Championships in Hawaii in terms of being the oldest long-distance triathlon in the world. Saturday’s 37th edition of the race also saw the continuation of the partnership between the European Triathlon Union (ETU) and the Challenge Family, as the host organisers for its annual Middle and Long Distance Triathlon European Championships.

 

Taking place over the full iron-distance, Great Britain’s Joe Skipper emerged from the opening swim with a deficit of three minutes in his weakest discipline. The second fastest cycle of the day kept him in contention for Gold, as he would start the closing marathon in fourth position. Ukraine’s Viktor Zyemtsev put up a great fight on the run, the pair running side-by-side well into the second half of the race, before Joe was able to raise his pace once again. A 2:41:05 was the result of his efforts – and it was enough to both secure the Gold medal and slip under the eight-hour mark for the second time in his career, a feat that only Will Clarke has managed previously from a British perspective. It was Joe’s second medal in Great Britain colours, having previously won the Bronze at the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championships in 2015.

 

The travelling Great Britain Age-Group squad of 55 athletes returned with a collection of 13 medals; five Gold, five Silver and three Bronzes. This included both Gold and Silver in the men’s 65-69 division, courtesy of Fred Yearsley and Ron Skilling respectively. The full list of medal winners from The Netherlands is provided below.

 

ETU Challenge Long Distance Triathlon European Championships
Saturday 9th September 2017
3.8km / 180km / 42.2km

 

ELITE Men

 

1st - Joe Skipper (GBR) – 7:59:39
2nd - Viktor Zyemtsev (UKR) – 8:03:14
3rd - Joroslav Kovacic (SLO) – 8:05:40

 

ELITE Women

 

1st - Yvonne Van Vlerken (NED) – 8:51:13
2nd - Sarissa De Vries (NED) – 9:09:44
3rd - Hanna Maksimava (BLR) – 9:20:02

 

Great Britain ETU Age-Group medals from Challenge Almere-Amsterdam

 

Gold (5)

  • Sarah Ashcroft – F30-34
  • Louise Beasley – F35-39
  • Claire Wheeler – F40-44
  • Jo Clift – F55-59
  • Fred Yearsley – M65-69

Silver (5)

  • Nicola Sommers – F25-29
  • Olivia Thompson – F30-34
  • Karen Bridge – F45-49
  • Joe Duckworth – M45-49
  • Ron Skilling – M65-69

Bronze (3)

  • Tom Lawton – F35-39
  • Emma Kelso – F45-49
  • George Burns – M55-59

 

Full results

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