Sports Minister Varadkar wishes team well

David Maher / SPORTSFILE

 Sports Minister Varadkar wishes Triathlon team well

Triathlon Ireland will send its largest ever team to the ITU
World Triathlon Championships in London from the 11th – 15th
of September.

The 277 strong team is made up of senior elite triathletes
Aileen Reid and Bryan Keane, U23 elite Russell White, Junior elites Emma
Sharkey, Chris Mintern and Aaron O’Brien, paratriatletes Nicolas Dewalque,
Michael Delaney, Mark Phillips and Denton Howard along with 267 Age Group
triathletes.

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar met
with the team as they prepared to leave Dublin: “I wish the team the very best
of luck in the World Championships and I know they are going to do us proud.
Ireland is making huge progress in triathlon and it’s a great achievement to be
sending our largest ever team.”

Aileen Reid, currently ranked 11th in the World
Triathlon Series goes into the Grand Final confident that her preparations are
on the right track. “I have been training at altitude in Morzine, France with
my training group.”

“My family and some friends will be there in London to watch
and I hope to put right my dreadful past experiences with the London course
where I’ve crashed twice including last year in the Olympics.”

Aileen currently lies just 30 points off the top 10 of the
World Triathlon Series and with bumper points on offer for London’s Grand Final
a good result could see her break into that golden group.

As for Cork man Bryan Keane many would have bet against him
ever returning for a World Series Grand Final after a serious bike crash almost
put him out of the sport for good. Keane has had an impressive return to form
this season picking up some top results including Ireland’s first male World
Cup podium.

This silver medal along with a host of top 10 finishes gave
Keane a ticket to the Grand Final alongside 68 of the top elite triathletes in
the world.

“I’ve been racing for almost 16 straight months in order to
get my ranking back up but I’m in the best form across all 3 disciplines I’ve
been all season.”

“We have a huge Irish team travelling to London so it’s
great to have vocal support like that when you’re racing. I hope I can give
them something to shout about in my race on Sunday.”

Jun Sato / ITU Media

Along with Aileen and Bryan, the next generation of Irish
triathletes will be sampling racing at the top level. U23 athlete Russell White
is a noted swimmer and will be hoping to post a quick opening 1500m swim in
order to make the lead bike pack. White had a difficult early season after
picking up a calf injury however his fitness may be peaking at just the right
time.

Triathlon Ireland’s Technical Director Tommy Evans is
confident the squad will perform well. “Everyone has been improving as the
season goes on and they are well prepared for the challenge that London poses.”

In the junior ranks 2012 World Bronze medallist Con Doherty
has been ruled out due to a shoulder injury. The absence of the Westport
teenager is a blow for the team as he has been in good form this season picking
up a number of podium finishes. The mantle will now be taken up by teammates
Chris Mintern and Aaron O’Brien. Mintern from Cork is the current Intervarsity
National Champion and took silver in Athlone behind Doherty. He will be joined
on the start line by Aquathlon National Champion Aaron O’Brien from Limerick.

Mintern and O’Brien are strong swimmers and will be hoping
to give themselves a chance of a top 20 finish by exiting the water near the
head of the field and settling into one of the leading bike packs.

Gordon Thomson / TI Media

In the Junior Women’s race Emma Sharkey will be lining up
for the first time at a World Championships. As with many of Triathlon
Ireland’s Junior Squad athletes, Sharkey is an accomplished swimmer and will be
expected to push the pace early on. Sharkey has been training in Leeds with
many of Team GB’s top juniors so she is no stranger to racing against the best
in the world. Many of the world’s best have struggled to keep up with the
Belfast teenager during the bike leg so she will be looking to capitalise on
this and try to break away in order to gain an advantage starting the run.

With Paratriathlon now part of the Olympic program for Rio
2016, Triathlon Ireland were delighted to have a team representing Ireland at a
World Championships for the first time. Nicolas Dewalque and Michael Delaney
will compete in the visually impaired categories of Tri 6a and 6b while Mark
Phillips and Denton Howard compete in the arm impairment category of Tri 4.
They will face stiff competition from the home nation who boast a number of
past European and World Champions.

Triathlon Ireland CEO Chris Kitchen sees paratriathlon as a
major growth area over the coming years. “It offers a fantastic opportunity for
Ireland to win medals in Rio. Triathlon Ireland are keen to develop this area
and we are holding a paratriathlon talent ID day alongside our next junior
talent ID day on the 24th of November. The Paratriathlon World
Championships will have 200 athletes competing and it’s always an incredible
spectacle.”

Along with the team of elite athletes, triathlon is unique
in many ways as 267 Age Groupers or non professional triathletes will compete
in the various 5 year bands from the age of 16 to 90 years old. In a mark of
how competitive the Vodafone National Series and Kinetica National
Championships are, Ireland boost a strong chance of medals in a number of the
categories. Kevin Thornton picked up the European Age Group title back in June
and is hoping to surprise himself with another podium result in London while
the likes of Vanessa Fenton in the 40-44yrs AG or Marie Boland in the 25-29yrs
AG may also fancy their chances of a podium finish.

David Maher / SPORTSFILE

Details of the Paratriathlon Team Here

Details of the Age Group Team Here