Over 80 women complete first triathlon

By Richard O'Reilly

Over 80 local women successfully completed their first ever triathlon on Sunday morning as Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Every Body Active ‘Try a Tri’ initiative climaxed at Templemore Sports Complex.

The athletes had trained intensively over the month of March under the guidance of North West Triathlon Club’s Carmel Lynch in partnership with Council’s Sport Northern Ireland Every Body Active 2020 coaches for the event which consisted of ten lengths of the swimming pool (250m), a ten mile cycle and a two mile run.

^{Competitors take to the bikes in Sunday's 'Try a Tri'}

The fledgling triathletes also received specialist tuition in swimming from Gerard Curran of Swimpro Analysis with the assistance of Jolene Linehan-Harkin, Odhran McKane and Aoife Quigley and cycling from Fiona Lafferty with the support of the North West Triathlon club.
Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Alderman Hilary McClintock, congratulated all those who took part and encouraged them to continue their fitness journey after reaching Sunday’s landmark

“Well done to all the women who successfully took part and to the Coaches who helped them reach this significant landmark of finishing their first triathlon within such a short time frame,” she said.

^{Annette Heaney (no. 31)  heads for the finish line with her running buddy}

“The varied nature of a triathlon means it tests different aspects of fitness making preparation even more challenging, so everyone who took part can be justifiably proud of their achievement.

“Sport Northern Ireland’s Every Body Active 2020 programme aims to reach out to sections of the community who are not currently involved in regular physical activity and I’m sure many of those involved at the weekend will continue to reap the benefits of exercise and some might even go on to complete a full triathlon in the future.”

Well done Team St Mary's in today's Try-a-Tri. Thanks to all the coaches, marshals & supporters 👏🏻👏🏻Great achievement by all 🏊‍♀️🚴‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️🏅 pic.twitter.com/i0sHGOpsxo

— St Mary's PE Dept (@StMarysDerryPE) April 3, 2017

Sport Development Manager at Derry City and Strabane District Council, Ryan Porter, said the Try a Tri initiative had proved a huge success.
“The main emphasis of this programme was on participation and we were delighted that so many of those who signed up at the start of March saw it through and completed their first Triathlon on Sunday,” he said.

“It was a short time frame for the women to prepare but they stuck to their training plans and can feel justifiably proud of themselves that they have reached this milestone.

^{Emma McGilloway (no. 52) and Veronica Campbell (no. 5) compete in the Try a Tri}

“The initiative would not have been possible without Carmel Lynch, Gerard Curran, Fiona Lafferty, the EBA coaches and all the other coaches who I would like to thank for their support.

Some lovely shots of @StCeciliasDerry pupil Emily McLaughlin first girl home in @SportNINet Try-a-Tri event on Sunday pic.twitter.com/1zWveGaZWT

— StCecilias_PE (@StCecilias_PE) April 4, 2017

“I would also like to thank the countless volunteers and stewards involved as well as Bolt Running Club and the staff at Templemore Sports Complex - without them the race couldn’t have take place.

“A special thanks also to the McKane family who supported us throughout the training and the Public Health Agency who supported the event through the Healthy Towns initiative.”