ITU qualifier age-group waves started heading off from 9am, and it didn’t take long for all areas of the flat and fast course to be populated by focused athletes. The first person back was Hannah Lord who also clocked up the fastest female time of the day. Hannah’s dolphin-like swimming abilities saw her take an early lead which she maintained and even strengthened finishing in 1:05:56, four minutes ahead of closest rival Zoe Cresswell.

Competing in the ‘junior’ category, Ryan Griffiths blew competition from all age groups apart as he completed the sprint course in a stunning 1:00:28. Ryan was consistently fast in all disciplines, but especially notable was his swim time of just 9:14. Danny Russell (Tri Training Harder) was his closest opposition, with Edward Castro (Bedfordshire Road Cycle Club) just pipping Harry Palmer into third best male time of the qualifiers.

Once the qualifiers were over, the Eton Sprint age group waves got underway, and another famous face was to be seen competing. Phillip Graves, the youngest triathlete to win an Ironman competition, is an inspiration to many.

Athletes of all abilities got the special opportunity to compete with him today, but unsurprisingly he took an assured victory, and was the only person on the day to complete the course in under an hour, finishing in 58:57. Scott Wiseman (Ashford Tri Club) and Oliver Bradford (Ful-On Tri) were Phillip’s closest competition but were several minutes behind despite clocking up fantastic times.

Possibly the most entertaining finish of the day was in the ladies (non-qualifier) wave as Sarah Lewis and Anna Sykes-Brown battled it out to the finish. In the end it was Sarah (1:06:29) who grabbed the win by a tiny margin, finishing just nine seconds ahead of Anna. Louise Croxson was third fastest female during the Eton Sprints waves. 

For full results head here.

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Sunday’s race in Hyde Park will see both Alistair and Jonny take on the sprint distance course comprising a 750m swim in the Serpentine followed by a technical 20k four-lap bike course and 5k, two-lap run course around Hyde Park.

This will be the first time we see both brothers racing together this season. After placing fifth in the 2015 WTS opener in Abu Dhabi, Jonathan Brownlee (2186pts) followed up with two strong back-to-back victories in Auckland and the Gold Coast before taking a break for training. In Jonny’s absence, older brother Alistair (1540pts) entered the circuit in Cape Town by winning the gold medal and then earned a silver medal in Yokohama. 

Wearing the gold number 1 in the men’s race will be Spaniard Mario Mola (2958pts), who is a strong contender at sprint distance, taking the victory in London in 2014 and winning in Abu Dhabi earlier this year with an impressive final kick to the line. Joining the Brownlees on the start line for Great Britain are Adam Bowden, Tom Bishop, Matt Sharp and Grant Sheldon. See the full men’s start list here.

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Women’s race

Racing in front of the home crowd on Sunday will be Non Stanford (501pts), who won on the course in 2013 to also take the World Championship title. Since then she has been rehabbing injury though, only returning to the series in the Yokohama race earlier this month where she placed seventh. She put in a strong performance though and looked likely to take bronze, until a 15sec penalty for not getting her wetsuit fully into the box in transition was added.

Vicky Holland (800pts) will also be competing and is having a strong season after taking her first WTS stage win in Cape Town last month. Emma Pallant and Sophie Coldwell complete the line-up for Great Britain.

All athletes will have to put in an impressive performance to beat the seemingly unstoppable Gwen Jorgensen (3200pts) though, who will line up wearing the gold number 1 in the women’s race and is so far undefeated this season. Other female athletes to watch include fellow USA competitors Katie Zaferes and Sarah True, as well as Andrea Hewitt (NZL). See the full women’s start list here.

Paratriathlon

With just a little over a month until the Rio Paralympics qualification period opens, GBR’s paratriathletes will be looking to gain points towards the World Championships in Chicago too. The paratri racing in Hyde Park is being held at 9:30am on Saturday and British hopefuls include Phil Hogg who took second in the World Championships last year and both Lauren Steadman and Clare Cunningham in the women’s PT4 category.

The GB athletes will face some competition on Saturday – in the men’s PT1 category Hogg will race against four-time World Champion Bill Chaffey (AUS) who is returning after sustaining injuries in a training accident last year. Meanwhile Geert Schipper (NED) returns to London as defending champion.

For more information on the paratriathlon races and for start lists, click here.

TV coverage

The men’s race starts at 15:05 on Sunday 31st May and live coverage can be watched on BBC2 from 14:50 GMT or via triathlonlive.com (£). The women’s race follows shortly afterwards at 16:45. 

We’ll be carrying full reports of both races right here on the 220 website shortly afterwards.

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Image: ITU/Delly Carr

“With the global explosion of Ironman 70.3 races, we expect approximately 4,500 athletes from around the world to qualify for the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship, which is too many for a single day of racing,” said Andrew Messick, Chief Executive Officer of Ironman. “We are focused on providing more opportunities for women to race with us globally and, after consulting with members of our Women For Tri Board, felt that having a separate race for female professional and age-group athletes would be a strong step forward for our sport.”

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This move comes as increasingly questions are being asked about the equality of triathlon under the Ironman brand, with campaigns such as #50WomenToKona from Tri Equal gaining momentum across the internet and social media (see our earlier story here), with support from big name athletes including Rachel Joyce, Sarah Gross and Karen Smyers.

America to host

In addition, Ironman have announced that the United States will play host to the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championships. Three cities, all of which currently host Ironman-branded races, have been named as the finalists in the selection process: Chattanooga (Tennessee), Lake Placid (New York) and St. George (Utah). 

“The rotation of the Ironman 70.3 World Championship has elevated the race and allowed athletes from all over the world to experience a World Championship event at fantastic locations,” added Messick. “The finalists for the 2017 championship are all tremendous hosts to Ironman races and provide courses well suited for an event of this calibre. These cities also provide our athletes and their families world-class hospitality and endless scenic and entertainment options.”

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>>> Kent schoolchildren head to Hever Castle for triathlon roadshow

It takes place on Sunday 31 May in Saffron Walden, Essex, and around 300 youngsters aged 8 to 16 will be taking part. according to the organisers.

Top British pro Lucy Gossage (winner of Ironman Lanzarote 2014) will be there as guest of honour, giving the young athletes a chance to “run with Lucy” on a short fun run.

It’s also set to be a qualifying race for the Eastern Region Team for the Inter Regional Championships, taking place at Mallory Park in Leicestershire on 6 September. 

For more info, head here.

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The race start on 14 August with a 3.8km swim in Lake Guggenberger, just outside the former capital of Bavaria, Germany.

Athletes will then embark on a 180km bike around the local roads, followed by a marathon through the heart of Regensburg, a world heritage city thanks to its beautifully preserved mediaeval centre.

“I’ve been to Regensburg many times and it’s an absolutely stunning place to race,” said McCormack. “I can’t wait to get back there to enjoy the Bavarian hospitality and spectacular course.”

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For more information and to register, head here.

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>>> WTS London 2015 preview

The standard black and yellow Boardman Elite Air 9.8 bikes that they usually ride have been stripped, sanded back and meticulously hand painted in blue and red with a Union Jack emblazoned on the head tube to match the side panels of their GB sprint suits.

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Boardman Bikes hope that with these bikes, a home advantage and strong support from the UK spectators, the Brownlees will both be able to close the points advantage that Javier Gomez and Mario Mola currently have, and put them in a strong position going into the WTS Hamburg round in July.

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>>> Hawkins and Faux win Outlaw Half 2014

Paul Hawkins, last year’s Outlaw Half winner and course record holder returns, but with an eye on his bigger goal of winning the Outlaw Triathlon on 26 July. Coming back from injury, the Manchester-based former Marine has said he’ll be tentative on the run course, but his rivals will know not to write off one of the sport’s hard-men.

Ian Turner is back after finishing second last year. He currently holds the second fastest time ever (4:15:45) on the course, just two minutes adrift of Hawkins last year after the 1900m swim, 56mile bike ride and 13.1mile run. Karl Alexander, third fastest ever, is also in the starting line up.

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In the women’s field, Cat Faux, the winner from last year and course record holder, isn’t racing. Amongst the favourites will be Suzie Richards and Jane Hansom, a multi medal winner for the Great Britain Age Group team, who should do well overall and be a favourite in the 45-49 Age Group.

Olympic silver medal winning Modern Pentathlete, Heather Fell, is doing her first ever triathlon, as are many in the rest of the field. Fund-raisers for Cancer Research, the official event charity, are set push the partnership total ever closer to the goal of raising £1 million by end of 2015.

Local clubs including TFN, Absolute and 4Life Tri are well represented at the event, which kicks off from 6.30am on Sunday morning (31 May). The leading athletes are expected to cross the finishing not long after 10.30am.

The Nottingham Triathlon on Saturday will see some fierce racing as places in the Great Britain Age Group team for September’s World Championships in Chicago are on offer.

The event expo and registration opens tomorrow lunch time, Friday 28 May. Free parking is available and all visitors will be welcomed along to the National Water Sports Centre during the weekend.

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220 Triathlon, with the UK’s no1 multi-sport website and magazine with an ABC circulation of 25,068 of which annual subscriptions are 15,573, will support the show as a key media partner.

Triathlon is one of the UK’s fastest growing sports. The number of participants in 2015 is expected to top 150,000; a 60% increase over the last five years. The National Triathlon Show is the only event dedicated to this market and is expected to attract 10,000 visitors.

As well as being a long-established destination for athletes, the Lee Valley VeloPark location offers a priceless depth of features and content including the track itself, the one mile closed road cycling circuit, miles of off-road mountain bike trails and the BMX track. 

Matt Miller, Managing Director of Mercury Events said: “We will create an unrivalled experience for triathletes – packed with exclusive content and a brilliant trialling and buying opportunity they will not find anywhere else. The National Triathlon Show will be a destination event to buy for the 2016 season; all our exhibitors and sponsors can expect excellent return on investment.”

Steven Seaton, Managing Director of Immediate Media’s portfolio of sports titles added: “Mercury Events has a superb reputation for delivering shows that unite and add major value to their markets. We are extremely pleased to have secured them as a JV partner and look forward to announcing a series of other leading brand and media partners for the show very soon.” 

As well as tapping into the sport’s core support, the show will act as a gateway to triathlon for the thousands considering participating in 2016 and beyond. Over 100 exhibitors will ensure the event is seen as an unparalleled opportunity to see, demo, try and buy the newest products in the market. Ticket packages will include taster sessions on all the tracks, as well as scheduled trials of the latest bike and wetsuit technology from the sport’s best-known brands. 

Helen Webster, Editor of 220 Triathlon commented: “Our readers and subscribers want a dedicated annual show of true scale and quality. The timing of the show – announcing the start of the season – and the location at the Velodrome are perfect. We’re proud of 220’s position as a premium and highly-valued resource; I have no doubt the National Triathlon Show will match our audience’s high expectations.” 

Mercury Events Ltd was formed in March 2012. The company is committed to delivering sustainable, quality consumer shows and events that offer great value, return on investment and excellent service to all exhibitors and partners as well as the paying public.

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More information on 220triathlon.com as soon as it becomes available…

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First medal of the day went to George Peasgood, who took silver in the PT4 category. A rising star on the GB paratri squad, Peasgood was leading out of T2, but was overtaken on his weakest discipline by Canada’s Stefan Daniel.

“Today was hard but it felt comfortable,” said Peasgood at the finish line. “But the run was probably one of the best I’ve done. My run’s still improving, and I’ve still got a long way to go with it, but it’s going good.”

Second at the recent National Paratri Champs in Llanelli behind Alison Patrick (not racing in London), Melissa Reid was today teamed with guide Nicole Walters as they powered to PT5 gold in the final metres of the 5km run. The pairing are used to winning here, having been victorious in 2013 for the World Champs.

“Very happy with the results today,” said Reid post race. “Still fairly early in the season though, so we’ll see how things pan out, and we’re obviously aiming for the Worlds at the end of the season.”

220 male paratriathlete of the year, Phil Hogg, was chuffed with his third-place finish in the PT1 category.

“That was really solid,” enthused Hogg at the line. “I had a really good swim, the bike was okay – I lost focus a little bit getting overtaken straight away but I got that back together again and just kept the power on, got back into my game mode. Onto the run I felt really strong, pushing really well. So I’m really happy with the performance for sure.”

One of the strongest categories for the GB squad is the women’s PT4, where in London the reigning world and European champ, Lauren Steadman, continued her dominance at the head of the close-run category.

“I’m happy, it was good enough,” said Steadman. “I was disappointed with the swim, I got caught with somebody and it just annoyed me, but I had the bike and run so it’s fine.”

Rounding out the GB medal haul was Claire Cunningham who took PT4 silver, Iain Dawson with PT5 bronze and Lizzie Tench for PT1 silver.

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PHOTO CREDIT: Ross Grieve/DGT

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