Spectators were treated to some close finishes in Strathclyde Park, as the 2016 British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super Series was drawn to a close.
The fifth and final race of the series took place today (4 September 2016) in the form of the British Triathlon Under 20’s Festival, seeing the best of Britain’s juniors go head-to-head at the same, iconic location as the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
Stepping up into the Junior ranks, Caitlin Roper crossed the line in first place as she did last year as a youth athlete. 3 seconds behind, finishing in 1:06:01, was Scotland’s Julie Nimmo who just saw the better of Rebecca Storrie in third (1:06:05). With Kate Waugh having already taken the series title following previous performances, Nimmo’s silver took her second overall, with Roper picking up bronze.
Roper commented, “I was lucky because I picked a good line in the swim and then worked hard to make the front bike group. My tactic was to go out hard on the run and just hold on for as on as I could – not easy when you have 20km of cycling in your legs!”
The Junior Men’s race witnessed Barclay Izzard pick up a convincing win; his second of the series. Clocking 57:00, Izzard was 20 seconds clear of Louis Vitiello, with Mathias Margirier in third (57:23). It was double success for Izzard, who also collected the Junior Men’s Super Series title, with Jack Willis and Alex Chantler-Mayne awarded silver and bronze, respectively.
Izzard said, “I was on Jack Willis’ shoulder on the swim – I wanted to stay close to him as I know he’s a strong swimmer. Then I just did my best to make the front bike group so I was up there with the top guys.
Out on the run I knew I had to go hard from the start, so that’s what I did.”
The youth female race played host to the clearest win of the day. French athlete, Audrey Ducornet, stopped the clock at 34:16; 35 seconds clear of Jessica Fullagar in second. Libby Coleman, finished third in 34:55.
However, the 2016 Youth Girls Super Series podium saw Erin Wallace take top spot, with Coleman and Abbie Williams in the respective runner-up spots.
Finally, the Youth Boy’s race saw a hard-fought battle between Daniel Slater and James Chantler-Mayne, with Slater coming out on top in 30:26. Chantler-Mayne clocked 30:32, with Marcus Dey completing the podium in 30:42.
Slater said, “I’m really happy with how today went. I had a great swim and was second out of the water which was what I was hoping for.
“I worked really well with my teammate Marcus (Dey) on the bike, along with James (Chantler-Mayne) too. We’ve been racing together all year so it worked really well and we stayed with each other until about the last 800m of the run.”
It was Chantler-Mayne however who took the Youth Boys Super Series title, with Willis in second and Slater in third.
The British Triathlon Under 20’s Festival also hosted the 2016 Inter Regional Championships for Tri Star 2’s and 3’s. More details on this to follow.
For full results of the British Triathlon Under 20’s Festival, please visit here.
