The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Tri Kingdom Come brings hundreds to the waters and the wild
HUNDREDS TAKE PART IN TRALEE TRIATHLON CLUB‘S FENIT EVENT
THE weather gods shone down on Tri Kingdom Come on Saturday to make the Tralee Triathlon another huge success.
With a fantastic course, great community support and a wonderful atmosphere, Kerry’s biggest triathlon was a fantastic day out for athletes and spectators.
More than 400 athletes took part in this year’s event, including more than 170 triathletes from Kerry who were joined by participants from Cork, Limerick, Dublin, Clare and overseas.
There was a huge support from spectators, who added to the wonderful atmosphere in Fenit.
Volunteers from Tralee Triathlon Club and local clubs and communities were on hand to make sure that participants had a wonderful day out racing in Kerry, and their support made the event the success that it was.
There was a huge buzz throughout the morning and afternoon in Fenit as music blared and the sun shone.
Fenit is the ideal location for a triathlon and competitors said they were delighted with the course and it was an especially great event for those doing their first triathlon.
Tri Kingdom Come is fast gaining a reputation for introducing new athletes to the sport, and almost 50 first-time triathletes took part in the Try-a-Tri – a 250m swim, an 8k cycle and a 2.5k run.
The winners of this year’s Try-a-Tri were Mark Ryall and Martina Lawless, both from Tralee.
“Tri Kingdom Come is a very special event and this weekend was very special for all the athletes but especially for those who took part in their first ever triathlon. We are very proud of hosting our new triathletes,” said race director John Quilter.
“We had a great event and this is due to every single person who helped out. We got great local support from the community and from local clubs as well as from our own club.
“That is what makes it so special: everyone coming on board to make Tri Kingdom Come a fantastic sporting event.”
The Sprint distance event of a 750m swim, a 20k cycle and a 5k run was won by Tralee triathlete, Cillian Tierney, in a superb win on home turf.
Cillian has been making waves on the national scene and he was thrilled to win his local triathlon. He crossed the finish line in a time of 58.17.
“This is better than winning any other race. The support at home is phenomenal and I am delighted with how today went. ”
The Kerry triathlete is performing well in this year’s Triathlon Ireland Super Series and is training with Triathlon Ireland’s High Performance Squad.
In second place was Mark Nolan of Kilflynn and the Cork Triathlon Club. He was last year’s winner.
In third place was Patrick Peters from Meath.
The first female home was Cork’s Amy Wolfe, in what was her second consecutive year taking the woman’s title. In second place was Katie Hickson.
Angie O’Sullivan from Killarney took third place.
It was a great day for Tralee Triathlon Club with many of the club members performing well on the day to take first place in their age categories including Majella Diskin, Sinead Stafford, and Padraig Kelly.
The first relay team home was the Barrett Bombers.