Tri fever hit County Kildare this weekend when over 2,500 athletes entered the Dooley TriAthy 2009 Olympic-distance race. Flags, bagpipes, the scorching heat and a bumper crowd of both tri enthusiasts and the inquisitive ensured a festival atmosphere greeted the participants at the third TriAthy outing.
220 was a sun kissed (well, alright, sunburnt) spectator and will produce a race report next issue (236) before a full article on the burgeoning Irish triathlon scene in a later issue.
For now, though, we’ll inform you that Scotland’s Fraser Cartmell recorded the fastest Olympic-distance time that Western Europe has ever witnessed (01:46:44), having gone nearly a minute faster than his previous record set here in 2008. Cartmell (pictured) was joined on the men’s podium by Bryan Keane in his first triathlon on home soil (and only his second OD race) and the recent winner of the Spring Ballbuster, James Gilfillan.
In the women’s event, Aileen Morrison (02:07:45) took top sport after flying out of the swim in first place and never looking like giving up her lead in front of a home crowd. The Russian, Elena Maslova, was second and Morrison’s compatriot, Amy Wolfe, completed the podium places.
