Spokes Tramore Triathlon

The Gods shone on Tramore last Saturday and blessed us with a wonderful day of racing in the sunny southeast. Now in its third running after many years off the triathlon calendar this event has grown steadily year on year with nearly 250 senior competitors taking part, thanks in no small measure to the record number of relay teams competing this year. This year also saw the Tramore Tri double as the National Fire Services championship. In addition we also had our annual the junior “splash and dash” event which is the only one of its kind in the southeast area. We had 40 kids of all ages competing in various events on the seafront. A fantastic spectacle to see the future triathletes of tomorrow put through their paces.

Philip "the beautiful" O'Leary crosses the line first for relay team Chunky Monkeys.

The feedback from the competitors was that the course was particularly tough this year with a strong headwind for both the cycle and run leg, this also meant a choppy sea swim. But this is triathlon, and no one said it was going to be easy! So chapeau to all who completed the event.

Indeed the swim proved quite challenging for many which favoured the strong swimmers who were able to build an advantage over the rest of the field. First out of the water was Kieran Morrissey in under 12 mins, which was an exceptional time considering the sea conditions. As Kieran exited the sea he was greeted with a tunnel of faces which roared him along the 100m run up to the transition area. The setting of Tramore beach and sunshine meant the numbers of spectators this year was considerably large and they proved very vocal with their encouragement which was a huge help for the athletes.

Kieran was overtaken in Transition by several competitors as the strong cyclists made their move. First out of T1 was relay team “Chunky Monkeys”, closely followed by Tadhg Cronin. The bike leg is an out and back, well surfaced, undulating road but the strong headwind on the return leg proved challenging. Fastest bike split of the day was Gold Coast Tri winner Kevin Shelley from Carrick Tri, closely followed by Waterford’s Ironman Martin Kirwin.

Into T2 and the “Chunky Monkeys” were still holding onto first place. The run leg sent the athletes for a very scenic gallop along Tramore Strand towards the sand dunes on a naturally flat parcour. With legs tiring after the exertions of the swim and bike it was amazing the fast times posted by the competitors. The finish this year was moved to the actual beach and it proved a great success with throngs of spectators gathered around to cheer the competitor’s home along the RiverRock sponsored finishing chute.

Team “Chunky Monkeys breached the finish line first.” Don`t let the name fool you, this was a local team of “sharks” containing such luminaries as Stephen “the bullet” Byrne (swim leg), Ger “the duck” Foley (timetrailist extradonaire) and the Phillip “the beautiful” O`Leary (renowned speedster) and they powered through the tough course in an outstanding time of 55:46.

Men's Podium (L to R): 3rd Matt Coughlan (Piranha Tri), 1st Tadhg Cronin (Piranha Tri) & 3rd Tim Mahoney (Cork Tri)

However, the overall victory went to local man Tadhg Cronin (temporarily on loan to Dublin club Piranha Tri!!) and with it the coveted Metalman Cup. Tadhg, who has represented Ireland as an “age group” triathlete at international level, completed the course in 57:03. He was closely followed home by Tim Mahoney in 2nd and completing the podium was another Piranha Tri member Matt Coughlan.

In the ladies section Carrick Tri took the top two spots with Brianne Mulvihill coming home first in a time of 1:03:07, closely followed by Catherine Brown and local Tramore girl Maeve Savage taking third spot. This was Maeve`s first triathlon and rumour has it she has caught “the bug” so the Carrick girls may want to watch their back!!

Rounding out the prizes were Vets Sean Farrell from 3D Tri and Jenny Kervick from Waterford Tri. In the National Fire Services race, Tim Mahoney proved top dog. For all results and photos log onto www.spokes.ie.

The profits from this year’s event will, as always, be distributed towards local charities. The main benefactor on this occasion will be, Tramore Cliff and Mountain Rescue. A big thank you to Waterpark Rugby Club, Southeast Aqua and Marine Rescue and all the marshals from the above organisations and especially our race partners, Tramore RNLI, Tramore Order of Malta, Tramore Garda, Pierce Hire and Crawford Scaffolding and T-Bay Surf Club All these contributors truly help to make it a community event.

So roll on next year where the event is set to grow further. Start your training now!!

Results from the Spokes Tramore triathlon are available in excel here. (courtesy of StuWeb)