Following five stages of the British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super Series, it was down to a day of racing in Leicestershire’s Mallory Park to decide the 2017 champions.
The sun was shining as Olivia Mathias became the first athlete over the line on the racing circuit. After exiting the swim in a leading quartet, the 2016 British Sprint Triathlon Junior Champion went stride for stride with Jessica Fullagar of France for the remainder of the race. Mathias dipped 10 seconds ahead of Fullagar, with Sophie Alden in third.
Olivia Mathias, Junior Women’s Champion said, “The plan was just to go out hard on the bike. I knew that there were some strong swimmers like Lizzie (Hood) and Sophie (Alden) in the field so I knew I just had to get out on the bike and work to get the gap bigger. Fullagar was great around the corners too.
“Down the back of the course it was actually quite hot so I’m glad we were up first of the day!”
However, picking up a fourth place finish in Mallory was enough for Kate Waugh to top the Junior Women’s Super Series podium. Iona Miller finished second in the standings, with Erin Wallace in third.
The Junior Men’s race saw a convincing win from Ben Dijkstra. After a non-wetsuit swim, the 2016 ITU Junior Triathlon World bronze medallist took the race into his own hands and continued to inject the pace until he secured the win. Barclay Izzard stuck with Dijkstra for much of the race, finishing in second place around 14 seconds adrift. James Chantler-Mayne was third.
Ben Dijkstra, Junior Men’s Champion said, “I knew it was going to be a tough day partly due to the technical nature of the course, with the amount of corners they’ve squeezed in here.
“I didn’t quite have the swim I wanted so had to work hard on the first lap on the bike, but we had quite a good operating group with some strong riders in there which worked well together.
I had fair few aims that I wanted to hit this year and I’m glad that I managed to hit most of them. I think it was just a good opportunity for me to find those race legs and a bit of fine tuning before the world championships, so that’s one of the main reasons I’m back here racing on the Super Series.”
Izzard’s success saw him clear to take the Series title. Connor Henderson and Sam Hart were 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
Finishing second behind French athlete Emma Lombardi, Elsbeth Grant earned the Youth Female Super Series title. Hannah Brayer was third on the day.
Emma Lombardi said, “I’m very happy. I didn’t think I’d win – I was hoping for a top-5 position, maybe getting on the podium, but to win is great.”
Elsbeth Grant added, “It’s great to take the Super Series title. Libby (Coleman) is really strong so I wasn’t sure I’d do it, but I’d hoped I might be able to. The Super Series has been a big part of my season this year and this was my last race of 2017. I think Mallory Park is my favourite place to race.”
Libby Coleman picked up second place in the series following a solid few races, with Ellie Hobbs in third.
The Youth Male race saw Daniel Dixon continue what has been a successful season for the Ryton Tri Club athlete. By taking the win in Mallory ahead of Marcus Dey and Noah Canby, he also secured the Youth Male Super Series title.
Daniel Dixon said, “I feel absolutely great and I loved every bit of it. I set a goal of top 3 and to win it is just fantastic.
I’m normally a strong swimmer and so when I heard it was a non-wetsuit swim, I wasn’t fazed. I’ve had experience at the European qualifier and today I came out the water third, which was good.”
Marcus Dey in turn became Series runner up, with Connor Bentley in third.
For full results of the British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super Series, visit here.
