Woods and Kelly Dig Deep at Ballyhass
Trevor Woods and Shannon Kelly have taken the honours in the 14th and final round of the 2021 BMW Triathlon National Series.
The pair came out on top at Ballyhass Triathlon, which was organised by Mallow Triathlon Club.
Second place in the men’s race went to John O’Rourke with Justin Ryan taking third. In the women’s event Kathryn Fahy came second with third place going to Danielle O’Riordan.
Final Stop: Ballyhass
Autumn was most definitely in the air for what is the second to last triathlon on the 2021 calendar. For many this was to be the first and final race of what has been a short season but more than a few athletes were racing for the third of fourth time in September alone – such has been the nature of a COVID affected calendar that saw the majority of this year’s races staged over the past six weeks.
A 750m swim in the crystaline wasters of Ballyhass Lake, a 20km bike course on back roads and a 5k dash with more than a few short but steep hills was on the cards.
With athletes entering the water one by one from a pontoon, finishing positions could not be taken for granted until the results were in. But from the start it was clear that anyone beginning from back in the field would have a tough job beating the frontrunners.
Woods Going Strong
First out of the water was Trevor Woods in 11mins 50secs – a swim that gave him a substantial lead over his competitors and one he never relinquished throughout the race. Woods went on to power to the second quickest bike split of the day (35mins 09secs) and though he was just the fifth quickest runner of the day, his finish time still afforded him more than a minute before his next nearest rival crossed the line – an achievement all the more remarkable when you consider that Woods is in his 50th year.
Behind him, John O’Rourke was powering through the field on the bike and run. O’Rourke swam 13mins 55secs – leaving 17 athletes in front of him at T1 but once on the bike he set about overhauling all competitors with determination. A best of the day bike split of 34mins 27secs followed by the third quickest run split saw O’Rourke overhaul the entire field bar Woods to come home in 1hr 7mins 58secs.
In third place, Justin Ryan was a picture of consistency, seventh quickest swimmer, seventh quickest biker and second quickest runner saw him come home 78secs behind O’Rourke for a well deserved podium spot.
Kelly Goes Again
Racing for the second time this weekend, Shannon Kelly showed few signs of fatigue as she won by almost two minutes. Less than 24hours after claiming a National Standard Distance bronze medal in Westport, Kelly was putting on her wetsuit again in Ballyhass and duly went on to record the quickest swim of the women’s field – a superb 12mins 04secs. Her bike and run splits were second only to runner up Kathryn Fahy and Hannah Steeds respectively but Kelly was in control for the entire race as she crossed the line in 1hr 12mins 41secs to cap off a superb season with yet another win.
Limerick Triathlon Club’s Kathryn Fahy also raced yesterday – and in fact was the winner at the World’s End Triathlon in her backyard of Castleconnell. After the third quickest swim split of the women’s field, Fahy moved in to second in the bike and consolidated her position with the third quickest run. She came home in 1hr 14mins 29secs – a comfortable silver medalist and well clear of the rest of the women’s field.
Piranha Triathlon Club’s Danielle O’Riordan claimed third place overall. After putting herself in to contention for the podium with the fifth quickest swim of the field, O’Riordan sealed the deal on the bike which she completed in 41mins 03secs. She also ran the fifth quickest run split and in the process took her second podium in this year’s BMW Triathlon National Series after second place in Sligo Triathlon.
Results
Provisional results are available on SportsSplits.com and we will have hundreds of images from the day on our facebook page shortly.
Well done to everyone at Mallow Triathlon Club for a superb day of triathlon!
