World Triathlon Championships 2023
Para triathlon World championships
The World Para Triathlon Championships took place on Saturday, 23rd of September in Pontevedra, Spain. PTVI athlete Donnacha McCarthy along with his guide Sean Husband were first up to dive into the Lérez River to complete the 750m swim. McCarthy was struggling with illness that came about earlier in the week and this showed early after loosing quite a bit of time to the front of the bunch in the swim. However, the pair got to work and started to make up ground on the rest of the field throughout the 20km bike, moving from 16th to 10th position. McCarthy and Husband held their own throughout the final 5km swim to close out their World Para Triathlon Championships in 10th.
Chloe MacCombe along with her guide Catherine Sands followed shortly after in the PTVI women’s race. MacCombe who is fresh off the back of a fantastic performance finishing 6th in the Paris 2024 test event, is looking to gather more Olympic Ranking points to ensure a quota spot for next year. MacCombe and Sands exited the water in 9th position, but with the fourth fastest bike split of the day, the pair were soon back in contention. MacCombe and Sands excited T2 in 5th and held that position all the way to the line.
U23 WORLD TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIPS
In the Under 23 Men’s category, Jonathan Oakey from Galway Triathlon Club was making his World Triathlon Championships debut for Team Ireland. The Galway Triathlon Club athlete tackled the Olympic distance against the world’s best under 23 athletes. During the 1.5km swim, Oakey ensured to stay out of trouble, using the current in the river to his advantage to stay away from the melee of arms and the ‘washing machine’ effect that can sometimes happen during the swim. Exciting the water in 15th position this gave Oakey a real chance of a good result on his debut. Having made front pack on the bike, Oakey was concentrated on staying out of trouble and avoiding any crashes throughout the 40km bike. By the end of the bike, some of the race had made it back together with 30 plus athletes arriving back into transition to begin the run. Oakey put in a strong effort in the heat of Pontevedra, finishing the 10km run in 33:40, putting him in 18th position for his debut!
Sunday brought the final day of racing for our Elite athletes where Erin McConnell was entered in the Under23 Women’s race. McConnell has been gaining more and more experience as the 2023 season has come on, becoming Irish National Sprint Triathlon Champion in June.
Known for her good swimming, McConnell exited the water in 16th position. She’s been working on the bike throughout the year and it showed as she led, swapped turns, and didn’t look out of her comfort zone for the 40km. After arriving in T2 with some only 15 other women, McConnell was really going for a good placing. Unfortunately, stomach cramps and stitches interrupted her throughout the run meaning she fell backwards through the pack. Showing good form and determination, McConnell finished the race in 28th position. Commenting after she said, ‘I’m looking at the positives, leading the bike & feeling good, I’ve come along way to get to this point. Gutted to have got multiple stitches in the run, knocking me back numerous places. I’m not a quitter so I will keep on pushing.’
Full results for all races can be found on the World Triathlon website HERE
