Higgins & Diamond win TriTyrone 2026 Middle Distance Championships

The Middle Distance Championships and Round 11 of the Triathlon National Series at TriTryone had it all – incredible racing, inspirational achievements and some great conditions.

The course is flat and fast, with a rolling start swim in Eskragh Lough, the three lap bike on closed roads; and the run on a three lap out and back route. Organisers TriLimits Triathlon Club provide an outstanding experience for partaking triathletes, with their now famous event socks as part of the goody bag and a burger waiting at the finish line!

Read below for full event gallery and interviews with the winners.

two in a row for david higgins

A stacked open field saw tough competition – with a host of contenders vying for the top spots. The rolling start swim saw Liquid MotionTC’s Shane Dunne and David Higgins out front from the early stages of the first lap and hold a 40 second lead out of the water, Letterkenny’s Mark McGinley, Nathan Ward and Omagh’s Conor Maguire within 60 seconds out of T1.

The bike course proved influential with Donal Mongey and Ciaran Kyne putting themselves into contention across the 90 kilometres. David Higgins extended his lead to 8 minutes on the rest of the field by the end of the bike course, Donal Mongey in second with a chase pack containing Ciaran Kyne, Mark McGinley and Nathan Ward 90 seconds back.

On the run course, Higgins and Mongey held position but behind the pair, the race was on for the third spot on the podium. Sheephaven Half winner Mark McGinley and Piranha’s Ciaran Kyne battled it out over the half marathon, with McGinley producing a stellar run to bridge across to Kyne before crossing the finish line nine seconds ahead. However, the rolling-start swim proved decisive, with Ciaran Kyne recording the faster overall time by eight seconds and claiming bronze. Belpark’s Leo Corry recorded the fastest 21 kilometre run of the day (1:15:50) to move up after the bike and into fifth spot.

OPEN PODIUM

1. David Higgins (3:55:54)
2. Donal Mongey – Naas TC (3:58:47)
3. Ciaran Kyne – Piranha TC (4:02:54)

diamond shines

Sarah Diamond came to the race as the newly crowned Standard Distance National Champion, and in a thrilling race comes away from the Middle Distance National Championships with a new title to add to the taly.

Aisling Wyer from Naas TC led the field out of the water, with a forty second gap to Wicklow’s Eadaoin O’Raw. Victoria Wallace and Fiona Kelly (Wicklow TC) a further minute back. At this point Wicklow’s Sarah Diamond was the best part of ten minutes back from the leader.

With a 2:19:49 bike split, Wyer extended her lead on road and held position heading onto the run.

Behind Wyer, Sarah Diamond had set to work on the bike course, putting in the fastest split of the day (2:14:01) to power through the field and into second, with a three and a half minute gap up to longtime leader Aisling Wyer exiting T2. Victoria Wallace was in third heading on to the run course, with Lisburn TC’s Helen Perry fourth and clubmate Rebecca Carr in fifth.

On the three loop course, Sarah Diamond held composure and worked at closing the gap up to Naas athlete Aisling Wyer. Overtaking Wyer on the final lap and securing the quickest half marathon of the field for 1:23:18, Diamond also secured the win and a second National Championship title of 2026. Aisling Wyer was second. Victoria Wallace was third with a consistent performance throughout the day. Helen Perry came home fourth and Piranha’s Megan Roberts in fifth.

Both Sarah Diamond and Aisling Wyer went under the previous course record of 4:23:36 set by Becky Woods in 2025, with Sarah Diamond setting a new record of 4:18:39.