Nine European Medals for Tri-Team Ireland in Banyoles
Banyoles, Spain | 11–19 July 2026
Tri-Team Ireland enjoyed an outstanding two weeks at the 2026 Europe Triathlon Multisport Championships in Banyoles, returning home with nine Age Group medals over 6 days of racing.
A team of 65 Irish Age Group athletes, ranging from the 16–19 to 70–74 categories, competed across Sprint and Standard Duathlon, Cross Triathlon, Cross Duathlon, Aquathlon, Middle Distance Triathlon and Aquabike.
Hosted around the iconic Lake Banyoles, the championships brought together athletes from across Europe for a festival of multisport racing. Several Irish athletes competed more than once during the week, highlighting the variety of opportunities available within the multisport programme.
Ireland’s final medal tally included five gold, three silver and one bronze, alongside a number of further top-five and top-ten performances.
Nine European Age Group Medals
Tri-Team Ireland’s first medal arrived in the Sprint Duathlon, where Kathleen Ryan secured silver in the Female 35–39 Age Group with a time of 1:06:21.
The following day brought two further medals in the Standard Duathlon. Karen Gillman was crowned European Champion in the Female 25–29 Age Group, completing the course in 2:20:35, while Nollaigh O’Neill claimed silver in the Female 55–59 competition in 2:18:48.
Ireland continued its medal-winning form in the off-road events. Trevor Woods produced a championship-winning performance in the Open 55–59 Cross Triathlon, while Cillian Cloney earned silver in the Open 18–19 Cross Duathlon.
Three Irish athletes then stood on top of the podium following the Aquathlon Championships. Niamh Murphy won the Female 30–34 title in 35:33, Alice Clarkson was victorious in the Female 35–39 Age Group in 38:53 and Neil Cooper claimed gold in the Open 65–69 competition in 44:29.
The final day of racing brought Ireland’s ninth medal as Naoise O’Donnell secured bronze in the Female 20–24 Middle Distance Triathlon, finishing in 4:54:31.
Duathlon Championships Open the Week
The championships began with the Sprint Duathlon, where Kathleen Ryan’s silver medal led a strong Irish performance.
Fiona Riordan narrowly missed the podium in the Female 30–34 Age Group, finishing fourth in 1:08:23. Cillian Cloney, Adriele Prina-Mello, Michael Laws, Elaine Byrne and Isaac Kerr also recorded top-ten finishes.
Ireland added another two medals in the Standard Duathlon through Karen Gillman and Nollaigh O’Neill.
Owen Barron finished just outside the medals with an excellent fourth place in the Open 60–64 Age Group, completing the course in 2:13:24. Fiona Riordan followed her fourth-place Sprint result with sixth place in the Female 30–34 Standard race.
Success on the Cross Courses
The Cross Triathlon and Cross Duathlon races took athletes away from the road and onto the trails surrounding Banyoles.
Trevor Woods delivered Ireland’s first gold medal in the cross disciplines, winning the Open 55–59 Cross Triathlon title. Paul Flynn finished 20th in the Open 45–49 race, while Arthur Henrique Reis placed 11th in the Open 30–34 competition.
Cillian Cloney added his second strong performance of the championships by securing silver in the Open 18–19 Cross Duathlon.
Arthur Henrique Reis finished eighth in the Open 30–34 Age Group, Liam Hanley placed eighth in the Open 50–54 competition and Owen Barron completed another championship event with ninth place in the Open 60–64 category.
Triple Gold in the Aquathlon
The largest Irish contingent of the championships lined up for the Aquathlon, completing a swim in Lake Banyoles followed by a fast run around the surrounding course.
Niamh Murphy, Alice Clarkson and Neil Cooper each delivered European Championship-winning performances to secure three gold medals for Ireland.
There were also top-ten finishes from Sinead Greene, Naoise O’Donnell, Aoife Greene, Ciara Greene, Aoife Mulry and Trevor Woods.
A total of 29 Tri-Team Ireland Age Group athletes were entered in the Aquathlon, making it the largest Irish team competing in a single discipline during the championships!
A Challenging Aquabike in the Banyoles Heat
Ireland was represented by five athletes in the Middle Distance Aquabike, which combined a 1,900m swim in Lake Banyoles with an approximately 82km bike course.
With the lake temperature reaching 29°C, the swim was declared non-wetsuit, adding to the challenge for athletes before they faced a demanding two-lap cycle with more than 1,000m of elevation. Rising temperatures throughout the morning also made careful pacing and hydration particularly important.
Cathy Cunningham led the Irish performances with an excellent fifth-place finish in the Female 55–59 Age Group, while Celine Mc Phillips secured sixth place in the Female 45–49 competition.
In the Open races, Toby Bedell finished 11th in the 55–59 Age Group after working his way through the field on the bike. Paul Flynn placed 14th in the Open 45–49 competition, while Peter Meaney finished 26th alongside Bedell in the Open 55–59 category.
The Irish athletes produced strong performances across the Aquabike, adapting well to the warm swim and a challenging bike course featuring steep climbs, technical descents and tight bends around Banyoles.
Middle Distance Racing Brings the Championships to sweltering close
The Middle Distance Triathlon brought the week to a sweltering close with Naoise O’Donnell earning Ireland’s ninth and final medal.
Due to the high temperatures the decision was made to shorten the Middle Distance Triathlon run course.
O’Donnell secured bronze in the Female 20–24 Age Group with a time of 4:54:31, adding to her eighth-place result in the Aquathlon earlier in the championships.
Dermot McCabe produced another standout performance, finishing fifth in the Open 55–59 Age Group in 4:23:30. David Spring placed tenth in the Open 35–39 competition, while Barbara Tobin finished ninth in the Female 60–64 race.
Owen Barron completed his fourth championship event of the week, having also contested the Sprint Duathlon, Standard Duathlon and Cross Duathlon.
Full Tri-Team Ireland Results
Sprint Duathlon – Female
30–34: Fiona Riordan – 4th
35–39: Kathleen Ryan – Silver
35–39: Elaine Byrne – 7th
Sprint Duathlon – Open
16–19: Cillian Cloney – 6th
25–29: Luke Smith – DNF
30–34: Isaac Kerr – 9th
40–44: Eoin Bailey – 11th
45–49: Michael Laws – 7th
45–49: Paul Flynn – 31st
50–54: Adriele Prina-Mello – 6th
55–59: Nigel McCullough – 13th
55–59: Michael Conway – 14th
60–64: Owen Barron – 7th
60–64: Noel O’Regan – 19th
Standard Duathlon – Female
25–29: Karen Gillman – Gold
30–34: Fiona Riordan – 6th
45–49: Angela Collins – 8th
55–59: Nollaigh O’Neill – Silver
55–59: Polly Siobhan Rogers-Dixon – 9th
Standard Duathlon – Open
55–59: Michael Conway – 18th
60–64: Owen Barron – 4th
Cross Duathlon – Open
18–19: Cillian Cloney – Silver
30–34: Arthur Henrique Reis – 8th
50–54: Liam Hanley – 8th
60–64: Owen Barron – 9th
Cross Triathlon – Open
30–34: Arthur Henrique Reis – 11th
45–49: Paul Flynn – 20th
55–59: Trevor Woods – Gold
Aquathlon – Female
16–19: Sinead Greene – 8th
16–19: Fia O’Donnell – DNF
20–24: Naoise O’Donnell – 8th
25–29: Aoife Greene – 8th
25–29: Ciara Greene – 9th
25–29: Aoife Mulry – 10th
25–29: Rachel Gillivan – 11th
30–34: Niamh Murphy – Gold
35–39: Alice Clarkson – Gold
45–49: Maeve O’Reilly – 21st
45–49: Lynette Costello – 23rd
45–49: Éilis Treacy – 24th
50–54: Tara Farrell – 11th
50–54: Colette Finneran – 18th
55–59: Grainne Egan – 22nd
60–64: Catherine Tully – 20th
70–74: Deirdre Philpott – DNF
Aquathlon – Open
30–34: Diarmuid Connon – 14th
35–39: Morgan Commons – 18th
35–39: Andy McNamara – 19th
40–44: Eoghan Cunningham – 11th
55–59: Trevor Woods – 7th
55–59: Patrick Greene – 26th
55–59: Eddie Burton – DNF
60–64: Noel O’Regan – 19th
60–64: Patrick Fox – 29th
60–64: Tom Dully – 31st
65–69: Neil Cooper – Gold
Middle Distance Triathlon – Female
20–24: Naoise O’Donnell – Bronze
50–54: Lilly O’Dea – 12th
50–54: Claire Diethe – 13th
60–64: Barbara Tobin – 9th
Middle Distance Triathlon – Open
30–34: Micheal Costello – 19th
35–39: David Spring – 10th
35–39: Denis McElligott – 12th
35–39: Danny O’Sullivan – 20th
50–54: Martin Tynan – 22nd
50–54: Jonathan Maguire – 28th
50–54: Brian O’Donnell – DNF
55–59: Dermot McCabe – 5th
55–59: Geoff Collins – 18th
60–64: Owen Barron – 15th
Aquabike – Female
45–49: Celine Mc Phillips – 6th
55–59: Cathy Cunningham – 5th
Aquabike – Open
45–49: Paul Flynn – 14th
55–59: Toby Bedell – 11th
55–59: Peter Meaney – 26th
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