Talent ID & Para Day

Over 70 applications were received for Triathlon Ireland's Junior Talent
Identification and Paratriathlon Information Day held in Athlone Institute of
Technology on Sunday.

50 young athletes attended the swim and run time trials with some impressive
times being posted. The talent ID days are now attracting some of the top
swimmers and runners in the country who see an opportunity to race
professionally in one of the fastest growing Olympic sports worldwide.

11 athletes achieved 151 points or better with 6 achieving 160 points or
better. Testament to the hard work and dedication of the athletes and coaching
staff the standard has increased dramatically. Last year's TID Day saw 2
athletes achieve 160 points or better where as Sunday's time trials saw 6
athletes achieved this high level.

Top scores on the day were by David Fox with and impressive 163 points and James Edgar with
162 points.

Jump mat testing pre and post run time trial

National Development Coach, Stephen Delaney commented, "We have seen
the highest standard talent day ever with a large number of athletes posting very
impressive times. 9 athletes scored above 157 points which demonstrated an extremely
high standard."

"There is a great camaraderie amongst everyone working together and
learning from each other in order to improve."

"I'd like to thank the athletes and coaches for their hard work but
also the parents and guardians without whom none of this would be
possible."

"The standards set are very high and while some will not make it this
year we have seen people come back and score significantly better after a
period of hard training."

Following on from the talent day, Triathlon Ireland is set to launch details
of the Junior Academy which will provide regional training day opportunities
for junior triathletes. Details of the Junior National Series will also be
posted over the coming days. The TI Race Calendar will also show all sanctioned races for youth and junior athletes with races continually being added over the course of the year.

A selection of images on our Facebook page here with more to follow.

Paratriathlon Information Day

Sunday morning saw the first ever Paratriathlon Information session with a small group of dedicated paratriathletes hearing from Naomi O’Reilly (Head of Classification at Paralympics Ireland), Dave Malone (Head of Paralympic Swimming) and Rosemary Ryan (Development Officer with Cerebral
Palsy Sport).

There are a number of paratriathlon categories detailed here with opportunities to compete for Ireland at European, World and Paralympic level.

The Paratriathlon National Championships are set to take place at the triAthlone triathlon on Saturday 5th of July with athletes competing over a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run. For more information on paratriathlon contact caradh@triathlonireland.com