Over 100 Tri Team Ireland Age Group Athletes Head to Pontevedra 2026
Ireland’s Biggest Age Group Team in Over a Decade Set for Pontevedra World Championships
Over One Hundred Athletes Prepare to Race
Tri-Team Ireland will arrive in Pontevedra this week with its biggest Age Group World Championship team in more than a decade, as over 100 Irish athletes prepare to race at the 2026 World Triathlon Age-Group Championships in Spain.
Taking place from 24–27 September, the Age Group programme will see Irish athletes compete across Sprint Triathlon, Standard Triathlon, Aquabike and Mixed Relay, with green set to feature prominently across the streets of Pontevedra throughout the four days of racing.
Schedule
Wednesday 23rd – Parade of Nations and Opening Ceremony
Thursday 24th Age – Junior Women / Junion Men and Age-Group Sprint
Friday 25th – Para Triathlon, U23 Women, U23 Men
Saturday 26th – Age-Group Standard, Age-Group Aquabike, Elite Women
Sunday 27th – Paratriathlon Mixed Relay, Junior / U23 Mixed Relay, Age-Group Mixed Relay, Elite Men, Closing Ceremony
Full timings available at triathlon.org
Ireland in Top 10 Biggest Nations Racing
Across the team, Ireland will have 133 individual race starts, with 57 athletes entered in the Sprint, 61 in the Standard and 15 in the Aquabike. Ireland will also field two Mixed Relay teams on the final day of competition.
It is a significant Irish presence on the world stage. Ireland currently ranks ninth overall for Age Group entries in Pontevedra, with 130 race entries, placing Tri-Team Ireland inside the top ten nations at the Championships.
Tri-Team Ireland Athletes Competing
The championships begin for Tri-Team Ireland on Thursday 24th September, with the draft-legal Sprint. The Standard Triathlon and Aquabike take centre stage on Saturday 26th September, before the Mixed Relay brings the Age Group programme to a close on Sunday 27th September.
Tri-Team Ireland: Sprint Triathlon
Thursday 24th September | 57 athletes
16–19 Female: Eibhlis Bartley
20–24 Open: Cian Connolly
25–29 Female: Sinead Buckley, Eimear Daly
25–29 Open: Sean Black
30–34 Female: Lucy Rumball, Laura Turbett
35–39 Female: Alice Brear Clarkson
35–39 Open: Enda Kilgallon, Darragh Skehan
40–44 Female: Emma Kerr
40–44 Open: Joe Hemsted, John Lenehan, Adam Naughton
45–49 Female: Helen Byers, Ruth Hamill, Anne Kavanagh
45–49 Open: Eamonn O Caoimh, Ali Cushen, Brendan Dowd, Conor Flynn, Darren O’Sullivan, Patrick Tierney
50–54 Female: Claire Casselton, Vanessa Fenton, Rosemary Obey
50–54 Open: Hugh Gallagher, Stephen Leech, Canice Nicholas, Shane Mc Nulty, Declan O’Donoghue, Keith Ryan, Simon Smith, Ronan Whelan
55–59 Female: Beatriz Beirne, Máire Diggin, Fiona Murphy, Polly Rogers-Dixon
55–59 Open: Geoff Collins, Donagh O Sullivan
60–64 Female: Margaret Kirwan, Karen Watson
60–64 Open: Simon Boyle, Paul Kinsella, Andrew Montgomery, Nigel Watson
65–69 Female: Helen Bacon, Catherine Flanagan
65–69 Open: Philip Aherne, Paul Crowley, Kevin Mcdermott
70–74 Female: Deirdre Philpott
70–74 Open: Adam Conlan, Peter Mclaughlin, Stephen Mcshane
75–79 Open: Michael Mallon, Desmond Mchenry
Tri-Team Ireland: Standard Triathlon
Saturday 26th September | 61 athletes
18–19 Female: Julia Van Coller
25–29 Female: Sinead Buckley, Eimear Daly, Laoise O’Farrell
30–34 Female: Allsún Kelly
30–34 Open: Liam Dunne
40–44 Female: Lorna Kavanagh, Emma Kerr, Naomi Robb, Hilary Ross
40–44 Open: Thomas O’ Hagan, Joe Hemsted, Liam Hennelly, Shane Hennelly, Donncha Kiely
45–49 Female: Helen Byers, Fiona Doherty, Ruth Hamill, Anne Kavanagh
45–49 Open: Derek Brady, Eamonn O Caoimh, Brendan Dowd, Stephen Mckenna, Anthony Molloy, Darren O’Sullivan, Conor Richardson, Patrick Tierney
50–54 Female: Andrea Campbell, Amelia Drumm, Vanessa Fenton, Elisa Navarro
50–54 Open: Shane Fay, Hugh Gallagher, Oliver Harkin, Stephen Leech, Jonathan Maguire, Canice Nicholas, Declan O’Donoghue, Simon Smith
55–59 Female: Beatriz Beirne, Máire Diggin
55–59 Open: Paul Carroll, Geoff Collins, Stephen Cross, Martin Kelleher, Larry Mcateer, Dermot Mccabe, Torres Sweeney
60–64 Open: Peter Mc Conville, Bernard Hanratty, Pat Linehan, Noel O’Regan, Campbell Scott
65–69 Female: Helen Bacon
65–69 Open: Philip Aherne, Paul Crowley, Martin O’Grady
70–74 Open: Ron White
75–79 Open: Michael Mallon
Tri-Team Ireland: Aquabike
Saturday 26th September | 15 athletes
25–29 Open: Sean Black
30–34 Open: Karl Horgan
35–39 Open: Feidhlim Dervin
45–49 Female: Sinéad Delany, Elaine Lally, Celine Mc Phillips
45–49 Open: Marcin Mizgajski
50–54 Open: David Dolan, Allister Gerrard, Shane Mc Nulty, Ronan Whelan
55–59 Female: Cathy Cunningham
55–59 Open: Peter Meaney, Brian Murray
65–69 Open: Eugene Clonan
Tri-Team Ireland: Mixed Relay
Sunday 27th September | Two Irish teams
Ireland will also field two Age Group Mixed Relay teams on the final day of competition.
Each relay consists of two female and two open athletes, with the relay category determined by the combined ages of the four team members.
Final team combinations and racing order will be confirmed during race week.
Follow Tri-Team Ireland in Pontevedra
Supporters at home will be able to follow Tri-Team Ireland throughout championship week, with race-day updates, photos, video, athlete stories and results across Triathlon Ireland’s social channels.
World Triathlon will also be sharing Championship Finals coverage across its channels, with dedicated Age Group content available through the World Triathlon Age Group Facebook page and @worldtriathlon_agegroup on Instagram. Broadcast coverage from the Championship Finals will also be available through World Triathlon and TriathlonLive where scheduled.
For friends, family and clubs following individual Irish athletes from home, official live timing will be available throughout the Age Group programme:
Sprint Triathlon – Thursday, 24 September: Follow Sprint live timing
Standard Triathlon & Aquabike – Saturday, 26 September: Follow Standard & Aquabike live timing
Mixed Relay – Sunday, 27 September: Follow Mixed Relay live timing
The full event information, athlete guide, course information and latest updates are also available on the official World Triathlon Pontevedra event page.
Major Step in Age-Group Programme
With athletes spanning from the 16-19 category through to 75-79, multiple athletes taking on two championship races and two Irish teams lining up in the Mixed Relay, Pontevedra represents another major step forward for Ireland’s international Age Group programme. Find out more about Tri-Team Ireland and being part of the International Age Group Team here.
Good luck to every member of Tri-Team Ireland pulling on the green trisuit in Pontevedra – we’ll be following every swim, bike and run!
