Great Britain’s junior squad take European Mixed Relay silver as seniors finish 6th on final day of championships.
The junior quartet, comprising Erin Wallace, Calum Young, Libby Coleman and Oliver Makinson finished nine seconds behind Germany, who went one better than their 2018 result to take the 2019 ETU Triathlon European Junior Mixed Relay title.
2018 Team Scotland Commonwealth Games triathlete, Wallace got the squad off to a leading start before handing to Young. Despite losing a few seconds, Great Britain remained in medal contention for the duration of the race and hung on to get back on the podium for the first time since 2016.
Olivia Mathias and Barclay Izzard returned to the senior start line for the Mixed Relay having raced in the individual event the day previous. The pair were joined by Rio 2016 Olympian, Gordon Benson and Sian Rainsley.
The race came down to a three-team battle between France, Germany and the Netherlands, with 2018 World and European Champions, Team France taking the tape three seconds ahead of the Germans. Britain remained with the leaders in a large pack for much of the race but were unable to challenge in the final stages.
Mike Cavendish, British Triathlon Performance Director, said:
“Overall, it’s been a positive weekend for Great Britain. Given the number of Championship debuts within the team, to come away with two wins plus a mixed relay medal for the juniors is a really strong return. It’s great to see Alistair back to racing at his best and what a great step up for Beth to take her first championship medal.
“As we’d expected, the championships highlighted a number of technical aspects to focus on. Our relay transitions are just one area we now need to look at in order to better our chances for future podium success.”
2019 Weert ETU Triathlon European Championship RESULTS
Mixed Relay
- France
- Germany
- Netherlands
6. Great Britain
Junior Mixed Relay
- Germany
- Great Britain
- Hungary
For full results, visit https://triathlon.org/results/result/2019_weert_etu_triathlon_european_championships
Mixed Relay will next be in the spotlight in two week's time when the Accenture World Triathlon Mixed Relay Nottingham returns to Great Britain. Grandstand tickets are still available at nottingham.triathlon.org
