THERE were a host of top three finishes for Stratford Triathlon Club’s juniors at the second race in this year’s West Midlands Junior Triathlon Series – Sunday’s Sandwell Aquathlon in Halesowen.
Another strong Stratford team took to the field, with the club represented by 13 athletes for the second race in succession as the juniors took on the extremely hilly run course in what is one of the most demanding races in the series.
First up for Stratford were Ben Jones, Abbie Wootton and Hope Lawton who also raced with the adult competitors. The three youth athletes took on the 400m swim, followed by the 5km run.
In the boys’ category Ben secured a magnificent third place with a time of 28 minutes dead. Ben also managed to beat all of the adult competitors, with the exception of the one who won the overall race.
The girls did equally well with Hope finishing fifth in her category (32 minutes, 39 seconds) and Abbie going one better than the previous week’s second place by claiming her first victory of the season in a time of 30 minutes, 41 seconds.
Next up for Stratford were the Tri Star 3 athletes who competed over a 300m swim followed by a 3km run. Stratford were represented by Joel Watson who ran a terrific race to finish eighth in the boys’ category in a time of 13 minutes, 34 seconds.
The girls were represented by Ellie Deaner who finished just outside the medals in fourth place in her category in a time of 15 minutes, 11 seconds.
The Tri Star 2 athletes were the next to take on the challenging course over the 150m swim/1,800m run. Stratford were represented by Georgia Pridham who finished 18th in the girls’ category in a time of 11 minutes, 40 seconds, whilst Charlotte Marshall ran a great race to finish 13th in a time of 10 minutes, 57 seconds.
Molly Bullock was the final member of the girls’ Tri Star 2 team and she finished second in her category in a time of 9 minutes, 53 seconds.
The boys were represented by Theo Skirvin who was agonisingly close to the podium in fourth place in his category in a time of 10 minutes, 8 seconds.
The penultimate category on a 100m swim followed by a 1km run was Tri Star 1. The boys were represented by Jake Deaner who earned the club its fourth podium finish of the day with second place in his category in a time of 7 minutes, 51 seconds.
In the girls’ race Kate Pridham finished sixth in her category in a time of 9 minutes, 6 seconds and Juliette Marshall finished 11th in 10 minutes, 37 seconds.
Martha Bullock competed in the Tri Star Start event and added to victory the previous week with another win in a time of 4 minutes, 40 seconds over the 50m swim/600m run course.
Club chairman Paul Hawkins was delighted with the results, with Stratford earning two first places, two seconds and a third, in addition to other fine performances.
“The future of triathlon in Stratford is extremely bright with the talent at the club,” said Paul.
Report compiled by Mark Bullock.
