Schofield races to bronze finish
MACCLESFIELD triathlete Jack Schofield is celebrating having recently won a bronze medal at the World Championships in Oklahoma City.
Schofield specialises in long distance triathlons, more commonly known as an Ironman. This consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile cycle and a 26.2 mile marathon.
He started competing in triathlons last year and was fortunate enough to qualify for the GB under 24 team in his first season in the sport.
His first event for GB was the long distance European Championships in Poznan, Poland. After a shortened swim, he managed to come out of the water in the top five, leaving it all to play for on the bike.
After a very solid bike in the heat he came off in first place but couldn’t hold on to the title and finished second behind a very strong local polish athlete.
He then arrived at the World Championships, which he saw as a great experience as he was lucky enough to carry the flag at the parade of nations, being the youngest British athlete racing.
The race took place in the 31 degree heat of Oklahoma City and was a shortened race so was a very tough day from start to finish.
An accidentally extended swim saw all athletes swim 4,500m. This meant that Schofield came out of the water in almost last place as his swimming is his weakest discipline.
Having thought he had lost any chance at finishing within the top five, he took the pressure off himself and began the cycle.
A tough course saw a strong headwind on the return, meaning a lot of the athletes really struggled on the bike.
Schofield managed to overtake all but four of the athletes in his age group, finishing with a time only five minutes behind the professionals. A strong run saw him make it up to second place before being overtaken in the last 10km to take the bronze.
“I’d love to thank my partners Vigilance QA, who have financially supported me for the year, along with John Honey Physiotherapy for treating my injuries and keeping me fresh throughout my high volume training programme,” he said.
“Without these amazing companies I wouldn’t even have made it to the start line, so I can’t express my appreciation enough. Also Congleton Town Council and Federal Mogul for donations to help with entry fees for the summer.”