Sad news over the weekend – a first-time triathlete has died during the swim leg of the Ocean Lake Triathlon at Leybourne Lakes near Maidstone, Kent. Advertisement The alarm was raised after Paul Gallihawk, 34, failed to complete the swim on Saturday (29 August), and his body was recovered two days later. The cause of his death remains unclear. The organisers said: “We are all deeply saddened by the death of a participant of Saturday’s Sprint Triathlon. Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends at this very difficult time.” Ocean Lake Triathlon Club organises six sprint distance events throughout the year, with last Saturday’s race being the penultimate…

There was some very tight racing at Xterra UK in Cranleigh, Surrey last weekend, with South Africa’s four-time Xterra world champ Conrad ‘The Caveman’ Stoltz battling for the final Xterra title of his long career. Advertisement >>> South Africa’s Conrad Stoltz to retire after Xterra UK A solid, driving rain the night prior left the trails muddy and slick, leaving those without the proper grippy tires and skills flying off their bikes left and right. However, the Sunday (31 August) proved perfect for racing, with cool temps and not a drop of rain. Men’s race Britain’s Richard Stannard exited Vachery Pond first with the fastest 1.5km swim, followed by Ben…

While top British pros Tim Don and Jodie Swallow had a day to forget at the Ironman 70.3 World Champs last weekend, the sun well and truly shone for their age-grouper counterparts. Advertisement >>> Frodeno and Ryf take Ironman 70.3 Worlds Among the pros, Susie Cheetham placed highest Brit in seventh position, followed by Holly Lawrence in 11th. Ritchie Nicholls was top male British pro in 27th place. Tim Don and Jodie Swallow both posted DNFs. Women Onto the age-groupers, and the women grabbed an impressive six top-five finishes in Austria, including two golds, one silver and one bronze.  Lucy Charles (F18-24) and Gill Fullen (F50-54) were the standout performers,…

Just two more races to go – the World Triathlon Series arrives in Edmonton this weekend, and there’s a very strong chance we could see more than one Brit up on the podium. Advertisement >>> WTS Edmonton 2014 round-up As the last WTS race before the Grand Final in Chicago later this month, there’s bound to be some fast and furious racing over the sprint-distance course (750m swim/20km bike/5km run) in Canada this weekend. Despite concerns over blue-green algae levels in Hawrelak Park Lake, it looks like the swim is definitely happening now that public health officials have given it the green light, saying toxin levels are “negative or extremely…

Saturday 29th August saw the 13th edition of the Vitruvian Triathlon, and the award-winning middle-distance race was blessed with the best of the weather from an otherwise soggy bank holiday weekend.  Advertisement In warm temperatures and bright sunshine it was an early start as always for the 800 entrants, with waves starting from 6:15am to begin the the 1.9km lake swim. Swimmers completed two 950m laps, broken up by a brief exit from the water and a 25m run back into the jetty to complete the swim course.  The 85km 2-lap bike course had some nasty surprises packed in, including a huge, lung-busting climb halfway into each lap – however…

Tomorrow will see Sweden’s ÖtillÖ race celebrate its 10th anniversary, as 120 International teams of two take on one of the world’s most challenging multisport endurance races.  Advertisement Held on Stockholm’s picturesque archipelago, each team will start at Sandhamn and traverse the 26 islands and sea stretches to complete a total distance of 65km of running and 10km of swimming. The time to beat is last year’s course record by world champions Lennart Moberg and Daniel Hansson from Sweden, who finished in 8 hours 16 minutes – although the race will see competitors enduring the challenging sea swims and rocky, island trail runs for up to 14 hours with a…

Click:SINOFUSE RS308-HB-3N 500A 250V Fuses Overcast and frankly dismal conditions in Edmonton, Canada today, yet Vicky Holland didn’t slow down for the World Triathlon Series’ penultimate stop, coming away with her second gold of 2015 after a ferocious run. Advertisement Despite recent algae worries the swim went ahead as planned with a beach start replacing the more usual pontoon. Water temps of 16.1°C were brisk but better than the ambient temperature of 7.6°C. Carolina Routier (ESP) led out of the one-lap swim as she so often does, but two Brits were mere seconds behind – Helen Jenkins in 3rd, and Holland in sixth.  Among the lead pack Flora Duffy (BER),…

There was a well-deserved win for South Africa’s Richard Murray at WTS Edmonton yesterday, showing great running strength to pull away from series leader Javier Gomez in chilly, wintry conditions. Advertisement >>> Richard Murray rules out Triple Crown challenge Raoul Shaw (FRA) and Eric Lagerstrom (USA) led the men out of the quick 750m one-lap swim and into T1. With no time to create a gap, a group of just over 20 men formed together to make up the lead pack on the four-lap 20km bike. Tucked safely inside the lead group were pre-race heavyweights Murray, Gomez, and Vincent Luis (FRA), while Aaron Royle (AUS) and Tom Bishop (GBR) consistently…

There were two familiar faces on the podium at the 2015 ITU Powerman Long Distance Duathlon World Championships in Switzerland over the weekend: Britain’s Emma Pooley and France’s Gaël Le Bellec both defended their 2014 titles. Advertisement >>> Olympic silver medallist Emma Pooley retires from cycling to focus 100% on triathlon Former pro cyclist Pooley finished the challenging route (10km run/150km bike/30km) in 7:01:49, more than 10mins ahead of Germany’s Julia Viellehner who celebrated her 30th birthday on race day. Denmark’s Susanne Svendsen finished third. Gael Le Bellec wins ITU Powerman Long Distance Duathlon World Champs 2015 In the men’s race, Le Bellec finished the route in 6:20:36, more than…

It seems only fitting that in an event billed as one of the world’s toughest endurance races, the 10th aniversary of ÖtillÖ should see an epic battle to the finish. Advertisement 220 Triathlon were out in Sweden following the events, as 120 teams took on the 26 islands and sea stretches making up Stockholm’s archipelago. In the men’s race, we saw a front group of teams play to their respective swim and run strengths putting on thrilling performances over the 75km swim-run course. Swedish team Addnature Osterjosimmet led for much of the race – no surprise as both members, Simon Borjeson and Rasmus Regnstrand, are experienced racers and used to training…