Great Britain Paratriathlon Head Coach, Jonathon Riall, was presented with a special award today in Loughborough. Andy Lewis and Ben Dijkstra have also received their athlete awards.
Staff and readers of 220 Triathlon Magazine voted to recognise Riall with the Jane Tomlinson Award for Outstanding Contribution to Triathlon earlier this year, and today he received his award from the Magazine’s editorial team.
It’s been a team effort right from the very beginning, and one that I can’t wait to keep pushing forward with.
220 Magazine recognised Riall following the ‘great feats’ by the team in Rio, but also reflected on a career dedicated to paratriathlon long before it became a Paralympic sport. Jonathon has been with British Triathlon for twelve years, having started as an administrator answering membership queries and through strong leadership, has helped develop one of the best paratriathlon set ups in the world.
He said: “Thank you to 220 for recognising me, but it’s always been about way more than medals, and way more than Rio; it’s been a journey that’s spanned six or seven years now. It couldn’t have been done without athletes and without staff. It’s been a team effort right from the very beginning, and one that I can’t wait to keep pushing forward with.”
Deputy Editor of 220 Triatlon Magazine, Liz Barrett, said:
"Riall, a mature head on young shoulders, full of verve and enthusiasm (and a pleasure to deal with as a journalist) marshalled a formidable band of paratriathletes to great feats in Rio. In many ways this was a step into the unknown. A funded programme that had to serve the needs of a mixture of athletes, from wheelchair competitors to visually impaired triathletes and their guides, all with their own requirements and demands to give them the optimal chance of winning medals at paratri's inaugural Paralympics. It was also a pleasure to see Riall's hard work capped with gold for Andy Lewis, whose progression through 2016 was a lesson in peaking to perfection."
Awards were also passed on this week to Ben Dijkstra, Youth Triathlete of the Year and Andy Lewis, Male Paratriathlete of the Year. The full list of award winners is available HERE.
