Foley Wins National Sprint Champs 2017

Heather Foley Wins Sprint Distance National Champs

Heather Foley has won the sprint distance national championships at the Firmus Energy City of Derry Triathlon.
Foley moved her way though the field during the 20km bike and the 5km run to win her second national title of 2017, following her victory at the Duathlon National Championships in March.

Ailbhe Carroll finished in second place, while third went to Laura Wylie, who edged out Siobhan Gallagher in a sprint finish.

How the Race Unfolded

There was little to separate the leaders of the women’s field during the 750m swim in which they encountered a strong current from the turning tide on the Foyle estuary, which made the ability to follow a swim draft a very useful advantage.

Jemma Speers was first out of the water, posting 11mins 51secs. With her, and on the same time, was junior athlete Erin McConnell, with Laura Wylie, Ailbhe Carroll, Aoife Fay and Siobhan Gallagher a handful of seconds back.

Kirsten Huysamen lead the next pack out of the water on 12mins 14secs along with 19-year-old Niamh Corry and Elizabeth Carr; with Foley emerging in 10th place, 32secs off the lead.

On the bike Foley put in what is now a characteristically strong performance as she moved up to join Wylie and Gallagher as they chased the leaders.
But it was Ailbhe Carroll who posted the quickest bike split of the day, as she managed to break clear of Speers to arrive in to T2 leading the race.

Finish

Carroll ran a strong 17min 45sec 5km but her effort was not sufficient to stay ahead of Foley, who went a full minute quicker to win in 1hr 7mins 49scs.
Carroll crossed the line 19secs later in 2nd, while behind her, the fast finishing Laura Wylie out-sprinted Siobhan Gallagher to claim third place by a single second.

Heather Foley, who now holds the National Middle Distance title from 2016 along with the Duathlon National title, said afterwards that she went in to the race focusing on her performance rather than the result:
“I’m really delighted, its a hard course. I never really expected (to win) its just when I saw there was a couple of them ahead I had to put my head down and go.”

Results, the men’s race and Video Highlights

More than 200 athletes raced the non-drafting event at City of Derry. James Hoare won the men’s race, with Gavin Corey in 2nd and James Cleland 3rd.

In the women’s non-drafting race, Maeve McMaher-Williams finished in 1st place, followed by Jessica Bruton 2nd and Esther Bayon in 3rd.

Results from Non-Drafting Races.

Read how Chris Mintern won the men’s national championships. Check back on triathlonireland.com for full video highlights of the men’s and women’s Super Series races from City of Derry and watch our Facebook page for a full gallery of images from the Age Group event.

Provisional Results