Geneva, Switzerland, was the venue for this year’s ETU European Triathlon Championships, which saw a 49 strong Irish Team compete against the best triathletes in Europe.
The championships include sprint distance (750m swim / 20km bike / 5km run) and Olympic distance races (1500m swim / 40km bike / 10km run) earlier this month.
The swim starts took place from the ‘Bains De Paquis’ on the shores of Lake Geneve, with the iconic ‘Jet d’eau’ in the background.
The bike course was along the shores of the lake and included a sharp 2km climb up the famous ‘I’Imperatrice’ forcing riders out of their saddle up the 11 degree climb.
Finally the run section was through the ‘La Perle Du Lac’ Park to the north of the city centre.
The Letterkenny 24/7 Triathlon Club had three members competing for Ireland: Clara Quigley (25 – 29 Female AG Sprint), Hugh Gallagher (40 – 44 Male AG Olympic) and Donagh O’ Sullivan (45 – 49 Male AG Olympic).
Photo caption Hugh Gallagher (24/7), Declan O’ Donoghue (Killarney Tri Club) & Donagh O’ Sullivan (24/7) after their European Olympic Distance Triathlon
With precision timing, the Swiss race officials led each wave of swimmers down to the starting platform and with a quick “MARK, SET” and a blow of the horn, the competitors were off.
Clara’s was first off on Friday morning in the sprint race with a 16:32 swim, a solid 44:30 on the bike and a 23:31 run, giving a finish time of 1:29:17 and 23rd in her age group.
She commented afterwards:“It was a tough race, the bike course was technical and it was really hot (up to 38 degrees) but I’m happy with my overall performance.
Donagh O’ Sullivan was next to the start line in the Olympic distance race at 7:18am on Sunday morning, a 31:50 swim was followed by an excellent 1:05:19 bike and a 47:40 for the 10km run, finishing in a time of 2:28:54.
“I’m happy with my performance and I’m proud to be representing my country today’.
Team member Hugh Gallagher took to the Olympic distance start line at 7:25am on Sunday, a good 26:09 swim was backed up by a hard 1:06:24 bike and an impressive 39:56 run, giving an overall finish team of 2:16:33, 35th in his age group.
“It’s been eight months of solid training and I’ve peaked at this weekend, I’m delighted with my performance” commented the Arranmore native.
“A huge thank you has to go to all the Irish supporters along the race routes, they were fantastic and it gave the Irish athletes a huge mentall boost”.
Donagh and Hugh now turn their sights to the ITU World Triathlon Championships in Chicago from 15th – 20th September.
For a full list of all the race results, please visit wwwtriathlonireland.com
