The final race in the British Youth and Junior Super Series (BYJSS) took place on the 9th and 10th September. Once again, Mallory park was the host for the Grand Final where athletes were battling it out for both Super Series and British Championship titles. There were some great performances from Welsh Triathlon Academy members who finished off their domestic race seasons strongly.
The Youth athletes raced over the super sprint distance with Josie Hurst rounding out a great first season in the Super Series to finish 7th. Josie's result meant she finished 11th overall in the BYJSS which is an amazing result for a first year Youth A! Ciara Cust, Lucy Jones and Bethany Clifford all finished off their seasons well too. Due to other commitments, we had no Youth athletes racing in the Tier 1 open race but in Tier 2, Sam Griffiths raced brilliantly to cross the line in 2nd. Daniel Mitchell also raced well to finish his first season in the Super Series.
The Youth B, Junior and Senior athletes raced together across the sprint distance. The only Welsh Academy athlete in the women's field was Eleanor White who finished 12th in the Youth B category. In the Tier 1 open race, Ifan Bowen finished 5th in the Youth B category. After a very consistent season, Ifan finished a brilliant 5th overall in the Super Series too! In the Tier 2 race, Rowan Townsend finished 3rd in Youth B to end a consistent year. Finally, in the Junior open field, Liam Edwards ended a great final year as a junior with 4th on the day and 9th overall in the series! After a great swim, Deri McCluskey had an unfortunate mechanical/crash and was unable to finish but still takes 11th overall in the series in his first year as a junior. Racing in his final junior race, Morgan Watts ended his most consistent year with 9th junior. Both Morgan and Deri will be joining the NTPCW (National Triathlon Performance Centre, Wales) squads in Cardiff later this month as they start their studies at Cardiff met (Morgan) and Cardiff Uni (Deri).
The Welsh Triathlon Academy Programme (WTAP) for the 2023-2024 season will be starting in October with a team building and mountain running camp in North Wales!
In the senior open race, it was NTPCW athlete Dom Coy who took the overall victory. After another strong display on the bike, Dom Coy took early control on the run; keeping the pace high from the off, it would quickly become a group of four. Over the 4-lap run, the group continued to get smaller until it was only Dom left to cross the line and take his first Senior Super Series victory. The next NTPCW athlete across the line was Harry Butterworth. After a conservative start to the run, Harry showed his strength in the second half to come through to finish 5th. Oliver Turner followed in 15th. Turner stamped his authority on the technical bike course, not leaving any room for error in a clinical display of bike skill. Guy Evans-Haggerty kept his cool in the 30-degree sun to run a strong leg from the second bike pack to finish 16th just behind Turner. Robbie Gibson also raced but due to a technical error in transition was unfortunately disqualified.
Ellie White was the only NTPCW representative in the women's race. After leading out of the water, and a tough bike, Ellie kept her composure on the run and finished 4th overall.
It was an incredible finale for the British Super Series which will return next year with Performance Assessments in April 2024!
