A North East team traveled up to Strathclyde Country Park near Glasgow last weekend to represent the region in the IRC's (inter-regional championship).

As part of the under-20's festival and basically the national champs for triathletes in the T2 & T3 age groups (11-12 and 13-14 years old) our team headed north to Strathclyde.

The team, comprised of; 

T2 Girls

• Erin Keeler-Clarke
• Millie Breese
• Willow Morris

T2 Boys

• Connor Prior
• Dan Cutter
• Kieron Mutch

T3 Girls

• Bethan Nitsch
• Freja Smith
• Rebecca Wren

T3 Boys

• Dan Dixon
• Harry Morris
• Will Smith

The triathletes have been part of the Development Squad, training together on a monthly basis throughout the year.  Training has ramped up through the summer holidays, with weekly sessions organised by Colin Gardener and all the young athletes were fit and ready for the champs.

First up were the T2 boys. Kieron Mutch started as defending champion from 2015 and was in the mix from the very start.  A strong swim and bike saw him come into transition in the lead group, but he was very unfortunate that a collision in the run in meant he lost precious seconds as his bike got trapped on the racking, and then a lack of space in the congested transition area again saw him delayed. He stayed composed and had a strong run but was unable to claw his way back in to the lead and he finished second overall. Connor Prior didn't have the best swim but pulled himself back in to contention on the bike then a speedy run gave him a strong sixth place finish, with Daniel Cutter the final counter in 34th.

We knew the T2 girls, who were up next, were going to have a real battle. All three of the girls are youngsters in the age group and all looked tiny in the holding pen for the swim compared to some of the older girls. Erin Keeler-Clark was the highest placed finisher in 19th, with Willow Morris & Millie Breese coming in 34th and 36th position respectively.

Next up were the T3 boys. Daniel Dixon has been racing strongly all season and was the pre-race favourite, mounting additional pressure on the young man's shoulders.  He came through and delivered a masterful performance. He led out of the water, then demolished the field on the bike, putting a minute into a chasing pack that was riding effectively as a group with an incredibly powerful solo bike time-trial. He held on to that lead through the run to win by a comfortable margin. Dan moves up to the Academy next season and will be a big loss to the Development Squad, where all the coaches have appreciated his maturity and leadership - he's been brilliant helping the younger athletes prepare for this championship.

Harry Morris had his customary strong run to lift him in to 21st. Will Smith had raced strongly in the swim and on the bike to start the run ahead of Harry, but pushed too hard on the run and collapsed with a kilometer to go. He managed to get back up and pushed on, finishing in 36th place before being carried to the first aid tent.

The last team to go were the T3 girls, having a nerve-wracking wait until 1.30 to start. The girls had been hard to separate in training and this continued in the race. The girls finished with a 10s gap between the three of them, with Rebecca Wren in 20th, Freja Smith in 21st and Bethan Nitsch in 24th.

The overall competition is based on points scored by individual athletes and the North East finished in 8th position, a great achievement for the smallest region in the country.

For more information about joining next year's Development Squad please contact Ian Simon on ian.simon@mail.com