Gold for Donnacha McCarthy & Sean Husband
Overnight Donnacha McCarthy and Sean Husband have won gold at the World Triathlon Para Cup in Abu Dhabi, getting their race season of to the best possible start.
Ahead of the race, Triathlon Ireland Performance Director Gordon Crawford was feeling positive;
“Sean and Donnacha settled in quickly and have put together some really good key sessions leading into the race.”
“They have used the camp in Fuerteventura and built on this, finalising their prep and are in great shape. They are ready for the race and are in a great position to perform and be in contention for this World Cup if they execute their race plan.”
Today’s win is their second at this level, having previously won at Alanya in October 2021.
McCarthy and guide Husband finished with a 28 second lead to second placed Lukasz Wietecki from Poland, with Spain’s Rafael Cabello Sanchez in third.
Full results from World Triathlon.
Off to a Good Start
The pair got their race off to a good start, putting in a personal best for a sub 12 minute swim. Speaking after the race, Donnacha described how their morning panned out;
“We’d a really good race today, a PB swim and first time we’ve swam under 12 so delighted with that. Hammered the bike and then just a case of suffering a bit on the run. Still getting back to run fitness after an injury before Christmas.”
“Overall we’re absolutely delighted and it’s a really good confidence booster going into the World Series in Devonport in two weeks time.”
Donnacha and Sean were part of the Triathlon Ireland High Performance Team to travel to training camp in Fuerteventura earlier in the year, and Husband feels this benefited the pair in their performance today;
“The heat definitely played a big role, and obviously spending the winter in Ireland it’s hard to prepare for that. Lucky enough we had the camp in January for three weeks and it definitely paid off having a bit of heat prep.”
After the win, Gordon Crawford commented on how the pair stuck to their race plan to put in the fastest bike of the field;
“A well executed race plan – this was started by a very good swim, an amazing bike leg and a solid run.”
World Series Up Next
The race in Abu Dhabi is the start of a big season for McCarthy and Husband, as they begin their path to securing qualification for the Paralympic Games at Paris 2024.
The duo are currently ninth in the world rankings, and aim to finish inside that top nine to secure their place in Paris.
Next up they travel straight to Australia to prepare for the World Triathlon Para Series in Devonport.
