Athy had it all!
They travelled from far and wide to the charming village of Narraghmore just outside Athy to participate in the final Costcutter Youth Series race of the year.
Athy Triathlon Club pulled out all the stops, including the sun to host over 60 triathletes chasing points as well as over 120 under 12s participating in their Junior Duathlon, with some awesome four and five year-olds who stole the show!
16-17 year olds
Eleven 16 to 17 year old boys raced a 3km run, 16km bike, and 2km run. The bunch quickly spread out over the first run leg on a predominantly flat road. William McDonnell led into transition with Ross McGuinness only a second behind him, and Finn Harris hot on Ross’s heels.
The 16km undulating bike course kept position one and two tit for tat with William posting the faster time of the two with a 13 second lead going into T2. The final leg, a 2km run, saw William picking up the pace to come across the finish line taking 1st position 37 seconds ahead of Ross who claimed 2nd and Finn shortly after to take 3rd position.
The Moore sisters, who have raced four of the previous nine Youth Series events, go to battle against each other again in the 16 to 17 year old girls race over the same distance.
Mere seconds separated them right from the first run leg to the finish line with Charlotte claiming 1st place by 13 seconds ahead of Olivia. Aimee Carr-Hannon had a fantastic race to take 3rd position. All three girls described the race as technical but very enjoyable and a great atmosphere.
14-15 Year Olds
Eleven boys raced a 2km run, 12km bike, and 1km run in the 14 to 15 year olds age group. In the boys race, Ethan Doherty claimed first position with a minute to spare over Senan McDonnell who took 2nd place, with Noah Harris finishing 17 seconds later to be awarded 3rd.
Similarly for the 14 to 15 year olds girls, eleven were at the start line to contest the same distance. Chloe Bennet led the pack for the vast majority of the race and posted one of the fastest transition times of the day. However, 1st position went to Izabella Chidlow who upped the pace for the final 1km run to cross the timing mat 22 seconds ahead of Catherine Mitchell who took 2nd and Chloe taking 3rd.
12 to 13 year olds
A total of twenty eight 12 to 13 year old boys and girls gave it their all over a 1km run, 8km bike, and a 1km run. Luke O’ Doherty won the boys race almost 30 seconds ahead of Davis Quinn who took 2nd position followed by Kevin McNally crossing over the line some 13 seconds later for 3rd.
The girls race had a top three finish all from Tried and Tested Triathlon Club. Aoife O’ Donovan claimed victory over the distance followed by Sarah Gaffney and Aoibheann Ryan took the 2nd and 3rd podium positions, and well deserved for some epic racing by them both.
Under 12s
Over 120 under 12s raced across a series of distances once the older group had finished up. There was an excellent display of racing by these juniors, including some exceptional mounting and dismounting which elated the coaches and supporters. Beaming smiles were clearly evident as one by one they crossed the line to be presented with a fabulous Athy Triathlon Club medal- and more importantly a voucher for hot chocolate!
Results and Pictures
See the Provisional results from the Athy Flat Out Junior Duathlon
And head to our facebook page to see two superb galleries of images from Michael Buckley
