The 2018 Triathlon Ireland Awards

It was glad rags instead of lycra last Saturday night, 17 November at the Gibson Hotel, Dublin for the annual Triathlon Ireland Awards! Over 200 members of the triathlon community came together to celebrate the 2018 season.

The ceremony was opened by Triathlon Ireland President Lochlann Walsh and CEO Chris Kitchen before Deric O hAartigain presented the evening’s awards.

National Titles

The age-group and overall medals and trophies for the BMW Duathlon National Series and all Championships were given out at the event – for lists of these winners please see the Series Rankings page of the site.

BMW Triathlon National Series 

Ellen Vitting and Donncha Kiely were awarded for their overall wins in the 2018 BMW Triathlon National Series. 

Athletes of the Year

Bryan McCrystal was awarded High Performance Athlete of the Year after a 2018 season that saw him break his own Irish long distance triathlon record for the third time.

Paratriathlete of the year went to Donnacha McCarthy from Pulse Triathlon Club. Donnacha had a strong season internationally as well as winning the PTVI Paratriathlon National Championship in Belfast this summer.

Erin McConnell was awarded Junior Athlete of the Year and John Bruton was awarded Age Group Athlete of the Year.

Behind the Scenes

There are many people behind the scenes in our sport that make it possible for athletes to train and for races to happen, these efforts are also recognised at the Triathlon Ireland Awards each year. This year, Coach of the Year was awarded to Michael Macken. Technical Official of the Year is Paul McGuinness. Volunteer of the Year is David Adams of Pulse Triathlon Club, David is one of the Dublin-based club’s founding members.

Club & Race of the Year

The 2018 Club of the Year is Galway-based Tri-Lakes Triathlon Club. There was a huge number of club members in attendance at the awards, making for great celebrations on the announcement of their win. Hook or by Crook Triathlon, run by Waterford Triathlon Club in Dunmore East is the 2018 Race of the Year.

Caroline Kearney

The Caroline Kearney Award is given annually to recognise exceptional contribution to the sport of triathlon. This year the award goes to Technical Official Jane O’Brien.

Spirit of Triathlon

Now in its second year, this award recognises those individuals who illustrate the principles of the positive spirit of the sport as displayed through acts of sportsmanship and leadership in multisport, with no deference to athletic ability.

Aine O’Connor of Lough Key Triathlon Club has overcome adversity to return to the sport she loves and has also established a supportive and educational coaching group for newcomers in her club, fulfilling a long term goal of becoming a Level 1 coach along the way.

Hall of Fame

The third inductee to the Triathlon Ireland Hall of Fame is Desmond McHenry. Desmond has been involved in triathlon since the sports beginnings here in Ireland, and was Triathlon Ireland’s (then the Irish Triathlon Association) first president in 1984. 

Desi is still as competitive as ever and races internationally in the 70 – 74 age group, winning a bronze medal at last year’s ITU Grand Final in Rotterdam. A member of Olympian Triathlon Club, he is a true legend of the sport.

Congratulations to Michael Cornyn who won a Garmin 735XT on the night! The competition was sponsored by Triathlon Ireland’s Official Delivery Partner, GLS.

Picture Galleries

All the pictures from the event can be viewed in the Facebook Galleries. That’s a wrap on the 2018 season, looking forward to 2019!