OVER 900 COMPETITORS arrived early on Sunday morning for the Vodafone Dublin City Triathlon, which took place in the River Liffey and around the Phoenix Park.
The field was split with half the competitors taking on the challenge of a 1500m swim, 40km bike followed by a 10km run while the remaining competitors and relay teams swam 600m, biked 16km and ran 4km in the Super Sprint distance.
Toeing the line at the Garda Boat Club were a number of top ranked athletes in the Vodafone National Series including Stephen Early, Shane Scully, Brian Harris, Marie Boland, Vanessa Fenton and Andree Walkin.
Setting the pace early on was Gavin Noble, who was racing for the first time since his 23rd place finish in the London Olympics. Noble emerged from the water first with a swim of 19 minutes 15 seconds. This strong swim gave him almost a minute lead from the next competitor Stephen Early. Early, who has been training with elite triathlete Bryan Keane, also had a strong 20 minute 5 second swim to lead the rest of the amateur athletes.
Noble extended his lead even further after a quick 40km bike ride and headed out on the run in the blistering heat. He cruised over the finish line 50 seconds ahead of Stephen Early. Early has had a great season this year having already won The Beast of the East Triathlon. Shane Scully finished in third place, three minutes down on Early having put in the second fastest run split of the day in 37 minutes 13 seconds over testing terrain.
“It was great to race on home soil and against some terrific competitors.” Noble said after his win, “The Vodafone Dublin City Triathlon is easily one of the best races in Ireland and has a great atmosphere. Many thanks to all the supporters around Phoenix Park cheering us on throughout the race. I’ve not done much training since London but it was nice to win and soak up the atmosphere down here.”
In the ladies race, Andree Walkin was strong across all three disciplines, but did most of the damage over the 10 kilometer run where she posted a time of 43 minutes 15 seconds. Marie Boland was just 15 seconds back in second place, while Vanessa Fenton was third after she fell off the leaders pace during the run leg.
In the Super Sprint race, much of the field comprised of first timers. The men’s race was won by junior athlete Brian Glynn, while the ladies race was also won by a junior athlete, Emma Sharkey. Over 100 Vodafone employees also took part in the race, competing as individuals or as part of a relay team in the Vodafone sponsored event.
International
Meanwhile on the international scene, elite triathlete Bryan Keane claimed second place at the Karlovy Vary ITU European Cup. Keane was second here three years ago but was sidelined for almost two years, missing out on a place at the Olympic Games after an accident whilst on a training ride.
Keane looks to be getting back to his best as he topped off the 1500m swim and 40km bike with a 30min 37sec 10kilometer run, the quickest of the 35 strong field.
Up and coming elite triathlete, Conor Murphy, was pleased with his tenth place finish, particularly his swim, as he exited the water with the lead pack. Ireland’s Amy Wolfe was 12th in the women’s race giving Ireland third place in the team category.
