Wexford Triathlon Club was out in force at the weekend with eight members taking part in Tri an Mhí middle distance triathlon championship and two taking part in the Galway Triathlon. The weather was not kind to triathletes this weekend with wet roads and strong winds making for very tough conditions.
Fran Traynor and his daughter Aoife did themselves proud on Saturday morning in the Galway Triathlon in Connemara. The father and daughter duo crossed the finish line together in a time of 1:47:00, having first completed a 750m swim in the cold Atlantic water at Spiddal beach, followed by a 20km bike and a 5km run.
Tom O’Reilly (5:31:34), Phil Murphy (5:18:36), Gerard MacGabhann (5:38:08), Padraig Murphy (5:55:58), Sean Collier, Richie Bridges (6:07:03), Michael Stafford and Marie Casey-Breen (6:53:33) all took part in the half ironman Tri an Mhí in Collinstown, Co. Westmeath on Saturday also. The 1.9km swim in Lough Lene had to be shortened to 750m due to the cold water temperature. The swim was followed by a very challenging hilly 94km cycle and finished with a half marathon (21km).
Michael Stafford was the first club man home in a time of 4:44:09. Michael Stafford, Sean Collier and Marie Casey-Breen were all using the race as a training session prior to participating in full ironman distance races later this summer. Sean Collier was unable to finish the race due to injury during the run. He had a very impressive bike course, completing the 94km cycle in a time of 2:59:25. Hopefully the injuries will stay at bay for the A races.