Triathlon Team End of Season Report
As the Army Triathlon season comes to an end and I hand over to Lt Smith, I would just like to highlight some of the many achievements made The Royal Welsh Triathlon Team in the 2018 Season.
Inter Unit and Individual Sprint Triathlon
May saw the start of the Army Triathlon race series with the Inter-Unit and Individual Sprint Triathlon at Eton Dorney Lake, which consisted of a 750m swim, 20km bike and a 5-km run. With the distances of each discipline being short, this gave us the perfect opportunity to introduce new athletes to the sport. It was great to have all our athletes complete the race with some very respectable times, against some very experienced athletes. Congratulations to LCpl Cooney (HQ Company) and Fus Sims (C Company) on completing their first Triathlon.
Inter Unit and Individual Standard Distance Triathlon
The next race of the calendar was the Inter- Unit and Individual Standard Distance Triathlon held at Lake 32 in the Cotswolds in June, with the distances increasing to a 1.5km Swim, 40km bike and a 10km run to finish. Not only did every member of the team complete this most challenging of races our first team of four; Maj Willcox (B Company), Lt Smith ( C Company), CSgt Swann (C Company) and CSgt Francis (MTMC) placed third in the Major Unit Championships and finished the top Infantry team. This was beyond all our expectations and a credit to all their hard work and dedication. Competing in their first Army Triathlon, Lt Probert (B Company), WO2 Pask MC (C Company) and CSgt Francis (MTMC).
Ironman Triathlon
We have also had great success at Ironman Triathlon over the past year with 6 soldiers from the battalion completing the toughest day in sport consisting of; a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile marathon to finish. Lt Smith ( C Company) was also crowned the Army Long Distance Triathlon Champion at Ironman wales.
Storm the Castle Duathlon
The battalion team and the Regimental Support Team continue to support Storm the Castle Duathlon, “The UK’s Toughest Duathlon”, held at Ludlow Castle. Known for its brutal 10 km run, 33km bike and 5 km run. We have a long standing relationship with the race organisers who recognise the battalions links to Ludlow Castle. The battalion team feature heavily at the event and are always featured in the race program, which gives an introduction of the regiment and its ties to Ludlow Castle. We will continue to support this event into the 2019 season.
Looking forward to 2019
As Lt Smith takes over the team for the 2019 season, we will look to improve our placing and reputation within Army Triathlon. After a very successful season and with the team beginning make a name for itself, we will look to dominate at all Army events in the 2019 season. We will also be designing a new team tri suit which we hope will be ready for the start of the new season. To encourage new athletes to the sport we will be running regular training sessions aimed at all ability’s, a training camp is also being designed with the aspiration of it being run overseas, this too will be aimed at both beginners and the more experienced athletes.
