Team Ireland: Edgar takes 7th in London & Oakey takes 11th in Melilla
James Edgar was in flying form last weekend, taking 7th at the 2024 supertri E World Triathlon Championships in London. The E World Champs have evolved from what was originally known as the Arena Games in 2020; established to enable live professional triathlon to continue behind closed doors during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Edgar had already warmed up for indoor racing at the World Triathlon Indoor Cup in Lievin over the Easter weekend, where he finished 24th overall. He was narrowly denied a place in the Elite Men’s Final in Lievin, finishing 5th in his semi-final while the top 4 from each semi-final went through. He ultimately finished 12th in the Men’s B Final.
In London, the World Championship race consisted of three stages over the supertri E format (200m Swim – 4km Bike – 1km Run; 1km Run – 4km Bike – 200m Swim; before a final 200m Swim – 4km Bike – 1km Run). The final stage had a start based on the time difference accumulated across the first two stages, with the athlete with the fastest times starting first.
Edgar placed 8th, 7th, and 6th, in each of the stages of the Men’s Elite Final, to claim 7th overall. Edgar commented, “A day just full of suffering, it was great to get a result at the end of it all. Good points for Paris with just over a month left of qualifying, it’s going to go right down to the wire.“
Performance Director, Gordon Crawford added, “Triathlon Ireland is delighted with the performance of James at the supertri E World Champs. This has seen him move to 75th in the World Rankings, his highest position to date. Currently James lies second in the New Flag position with 1668.99 points and only 268.27 points behind the Romanian athlete Felix Duchampt, with plenty of racing to go until the end of the Paris 2024 qualification season.”
Edgar will now turn his attention to the 2024 World Triathlon Cup Chengdu on the 29th of April.
Jonathan Oakey returned to international action for 2024 this weekend at Europe Triathlon Cup Melilla, finishing in 11th position. A strong swim and fast bike had Oakey in contention to race for a top 10 finish. He was narrowly pipped for 10th as a strong group of six raced for the line within 20 seconds of each other. A positive return to racing as he now switches focus to the 2024 Africa Triathlon Cup Yasmine Hammamet on the 4th of May.
