Double Bronze for Team Ireland in Besancon
Another action packed weekend for Team Ireland with racing focussed in both France and Austria. In Austria, a team of five athletes travelled to Wels for the Europe Triathlon Cup where Hollie Elliot picked up another top six finish in the elite women’s and Senan McDonnell was inside the top 20 in the junior men’s. Read the full breakdown below.
In Besancon, there were two medals at the Euoprean Paratriathlon Championships…
Europe Triathlon Para Championships Besancon
Tom Williamson; and Judith MacCombe alongside guide Eimear Nicholls, win bronze medals at the Europe Triathlon Para Championships.
The Irish team of paratriathletes Tom Williamson, Judith MacCombe and Eimear Nicholls, Chloe MacCombe and Aisling Wyer; and Donnacha McCarthy and Sean Husband raced in hot conditions for this year’s champs in Besancon, France.
Tom Williamson continues the momentum after a podium finish in Taranto the week prior, securing back-to-back bronze medals. Williamson finished with a time of 01:05:30, starting with a strong swim alongside Paralympian Felipe Marques, and continuing with a strong bike and one of the fastest splits of the day, bettered only by eventual winner Martin Schulz.
Speaking on the race and retaining his bronze medal, Williamson shared; “Really good to retain the bronze medal again this year. Going into the race, I only wanted one thing – and it was to come on the top step…but obviously to come out with a bronze, I’m absolutely stoked. I set out with a plan, and the plan was to swim and bike with courage.”
Reflecting on his performance, Tom shared “the swim was strong, and the bike was definitely probably the hardest bike I’ve had all season. I decided to really push the swim, and then bike with courage.”
Judith MacCombe guided by Eimear Nicholls continued their strong form in a highly competitive field with another bronze medal, building on their podium finish in Taranto just a week earlier.
The duo produced a time of 01:12:40, rounding out the podium alongside two-time Paralympic Champion and winner of the race, Susana Rodriguez and runner-up Paralympian Francesca Tarantello.
Judith and Eimear exited the water in fifth position, and headed to the bike course to produce a standout performance, quickly closing the gap and clocking the fastest bike of the race.
The pair also produced the fastest run of the day to claim their first championship medal. Nicholls shared, “We came onto the run in fourth place, the Germans were right in front of us – and Judith really pushed as hard as she could to catch them.”
Reflecting on the race in the high temperatures of France, Judith shared, “We went out hard, I think that was just the plan, go out and push as hard as we can the whole way through… hard swim, hard bike, hard run.”
The Irish pair executed pre-race cooling strategies to manage the conditions. “The temperature doesn’t really suit us coming from Ireland,” Nicholls noted; “but we coped with it really well and we’re really pleased with the way the race went.”
Chloe MacCombe and guide Aisling Wyer made their debut as a pairing to finish in fifth place. A strong start to their para triathlon journey together, finishing the race in fifth with a time of 01:15:04, behind Paralympic bronze medallist Anja Renner. MacCombe and Wyer produced a strong bike performance and continued their consistent form through the run to secure their position. The performance marks a promising start to their journey.
Chloe spoke on the new partnership, sharing; “It was good, solid racing throughout all three. It was Aisling’s first time guiding, a really good experience for us. Looking forward to the next race together – this is just the beginning.”
Aisling reflected on her new role as a guide, sharing, “This was a fantastic opportunity, I just went for it, and we had a lot of fun. It was a lot more challenging than I anticipated – the route itself was quite hilly and there were a couple of technical bends”, but added “I got a little bit more confidence on lap two.”
In their fifth European Championship, Donnacha McCarthy guided by Sean Husband finished in eighth place with a time of 01:08:56.
Reflecting on the race, Donnacha shared, “We pushed hard on the swim, we knew the bike was the place where we would try to make up the most ground. Very hilly bike here, we knew that would play into our hands and it was just experience then on the run.”
Speaking on the challenging heat, Donnacha shared that it was “one of the hottest races I’ve done in my life, it was a case of dealing with the conditions here on the day rather than fitness.” Sean Husband added, “The heat prep we’ve done with the Sport Ireland Institute really paid off, using the heat chamber just helps bridge that gap between being an Irish athlete and not having these conditions to train in.”
Looking at the season ahead, Donnacha shared, “Next on the schedule is two races in Canada – World Cup in Magog and the World Series in Montreal.”
EUROPE TRIATHLON CUP WELS, AUSTRIA
Hollie Elliott continued her run of form, following up fifth spot in Olzstyn with a sixth place finish in a hugely competitive field at Europe Triathlon Cup Wels, Austria. Swimming and biking in the front pack, it all came down to the final five kilometer foot race. Elliott finished in 1:02:02 for another top six finish in the race won by Austria’s own Carina Reicht (1:01:05).
In the Elite Men’s event, Jonathan Oakey was second out of the water with an 08:44 swim for 750 metres. Staying in the mix throughout the bike course, Oakey finished with a 15:57 run for 32nd place
Ralf Bodamer continues to build his international experience as an U23 athlete in the senior event, finishing 60th in Austria.
In the Junior Men’s event Senan McDonnell and Ethan Doherty were in action, both establishing their international experience at this level. Winner at last weekend’s Triathlon National Series in Schull, Senan McDonnell again showed good swim form, coming out of the water in the lead pack. A solid bike and run resulted in a top 20 finish for Senan, finishing in 59:43 for 17th in the large field.
Ethan Doherty, returning to where he had his first international race in 2022, was unfortunately forced to retire after picking up an injury on course.
Gallery: Europe Triathlon Para Championships Besancon
Photo Credit: Grande Heures Nature & Charles Robin Photography
Gallery: Europe Triathlon Cup Wels
Photo Credit: Gierlinger Sport Services
