Gibraltar Triathlon Hosts Successful Swim Run Event at Lathbury

Friday 12th April saw Gibraltar Triathlon hold its first “splash & dash” event at Lathbury.
A total of 41 people took part in the swim run event, and itwas great to see a large mix of ages and abilities. The number of athletes far exceeded expectations, and it was very much enjoyed by all.
Notably, Gibraltar Triathlon is currently promoting its junior development programme, so it was delighted to welcome 14 participants between the age of 10-14
The race began with an in-pool start, with the short swim followed by a walk to the “transition area” and the rapid addition of trainers. Athletes then completed the event with a run around the track.
The evening schedule was divided into 3 races:
First up was the male and female ages 10-14 their race, whichconsisted of a 200m swim followed by an 800m run. The juniors showed no fear, as the swim was fast, transitions were taken in their stride and all gave 100% on the run with some extremely fast times. Indeed, the talent of all participants was exciting not only for triathlon but also the individual disciplines themselves.
Alfie Child was unstoppable and led from the start, winning the male 10-14 category. He was then followed by his twin brother Freddie. Markos Diamantopoulis came in closely behind to round up the top 3.  
In the female 10-14 category, Olivia Patterson had a storming run, moving herself into a first place finish. Indeed, it was another family one-two, with Olivia’s sister Sophie coming insecond. Emily Peat took the third podium spot.
Race 2 was the 15-20 year males and 15-20 females grouped with female adults – this consisted of a 200m swim and 1.6k run
Ryan Clinton led the boys from the start, taking first position followed by Ethan Borg in second and Ryan Scott in third.
The women’s race included a large number of swimmers that run a little, or runners that have just started swimming, which resulted in a very even match over the two disciplines.
Charlotte Peat led from the start and despite getting cramp still managed to come in first and take the top spot. Deborah Imm took second followed by Sara Torres in third.
The last race of the evening was for the more experienced triathletes, which made for an exciting contest. The format for this event was a 300m swim followed by a 2k run. Categories and final standings in the race were determined by experience:
Category 1: Male adults that competed at the Island Games2023
Charlie Walker got a clear lead in the swim, where no one could keep up and entered transition over 10 seconds in front of second place (his dad, Chris).
On the track Charlie maintained his lead, taking the top spot but followed very closely by Phil Macedo who had closed the gap with a fast run. Chris Walker took third place. With these 3 athletes competing regularly, they just won bragging rights!
Category 2: Male adults
Jason Galton dominated this category with a solid swim followed by a very strong run to take first place. He was followed by Nicky Podesta in 2nd and Dan an Truong who came out of the water nearly 2 minutes down on the leading pack, but ran a crazy 2k to run himself into third place.
Gibraltar Triathlon would like to thank everyone who took part. We thoroughly enjoyed hosting this event, and seeing how much fun everyone was having.
If you would like to know more about triathlon, our junior programme or signing up for membership of Gibraltar Triathlon, please visit our website www.gibraltartriathlon.com. You can also contact us by email at gibraltartriathlonassociation@gmail.com.