Graham and Sands win at Sheephaven

A huge weekend for the sport kicked off at 7.30am this morning in Downings, Donegal for this year’s Sheephaven Half run by Letterkenny Triathlon Club. Racing this weekend is also taking place at Tried and Tested TC’s Dungarvan Triathlon and at Lough Cutra Triathlon Festival. Sheephaven Half marks Round 7 for the 2021 BMW Triathlon National Series.

The middle distance course sees competitors tackle the hills of Donegal on a stunning bike route after a 1.5k swim off Downings Beach. The hills don’t end there though…there are still quite a few more throughout the half marathon run.

The day dawned dry but blustery however conditions changed for the competitors during the bike leg and it was a wet end to the day for all. The rain did nothing to dampen spirits – it was smiles all round throughout the day with a fantastic atmosphere both on course and at the finish line.

Sands on third #BMWTriSeries Podium of 2021

Following podiums at Carlingford Triathlon and at the TriTyrone Middle Distance National Champs, Newry TC’s Catherine Sands showed her strong from yet again today. Coming out of the swim Catherine Sands, Emily Sands, Patricia Leith and Helen Perry were all in contention but out on the bike course, Eithne McGorman made her mark. Making up a deficit McGorman entered T2 in second and headed on to the run behind Sands.

Helen Perry was inside a minute to McGorman at this point and by the halfway mark had moved into second with her sights set on catching Catherine Sands. TriLimit’s TC’s Perry managed to claw back an impressive six minutes but eventually ran out of road and in the end finished two minutes behind Newry’s Catherine Sands. Eithne McGorman finished in third position.

Graham Runs to the Top of the Podium

Aidan Callaghan and Oran McGee were locked in battle from the off. Coming out of the swim with similar times, Oran McGee put some distance between himself and Callaghan in the early stages of the bike but Aidan made up close to fifty seconds to cancel that out.

The challenging run course took its toll and McGee pulled away from Callaghan on the first of the two loops. It was out on the run that James Graham made his mark. Moving up during the bike, Graham played to his strengths to run an extremely quick 1:11:51 half marathon. Overtaking both McGee and Callaghan on the run, James Graham wins his first BMW Triathlon National Series round. Oran McGee second and Aidan Callaghan was third in his home race. Matthew Kinkaid was also in the mix throughout, eventually finishing fourth.

With a background in rowing, James Graham is relatively new to triathlon and next takes on the London Marathon in a few weeks time.

Catch Up and Full Results

For full results, visit the Core Timing Website here.

To catch up on all the action, rewatch the live coverage on our Facebook page.