Ayrodynamic hail a year of success

Over 60 Ayrodynamic members filled Elliots to celebrate the past season and toast the success of many athletes in Triathlon and multi sports.

Eight club members represented the British age group team, racing in the famous red, white and blue in Australia, Denmark, France and Spain, as well as various venues in GB.

Lorna Todd, Lorna Sloan, Grant Young, Alastair Stewart, Mandy Stewart, Emma Luann, Lyndsey Blair and Davie Auchie all competed at least once, with Young and Stewart racking up three representations each and Blair a couple.

Two of the racers picked up medals, with Auchie grabbing a bronze in the European Sprint Championships and Young winning gold in the European Aquabike in Ibiza.

There were further triumphs in Scottish championships with Lorna Todd and Davie Auchie collecting five titles between them, while Lorna Sloan was also a winner.

Three athletes made their long distance debuts in the gruelling Iron Man competition, with young Marc Auchie posting a super time in Vichy, France, and Roddy Dunn and completing the fiendishly hard Celtman here in Scotland.

Club senior coach Stewart Bailey performed the incredible feat of swimming a mile in 103 different Scottish lochs, often tracking miles to get there beforehand, and earning a feature slot on the Adventure Show on TV in the process.

Lester Haining, as reported last week, won a lifetime award for services to Triathlon, and in Hawaii, David McNamee, who started his Triathlon career with Ayrodynamic, won the bronze

medal in the iconic iron man world championships, with the fastest time ever by a British athlete, just over eight hours.

In the club awards, it was little surprise that Lorna Todd and Davie Auchie picked up both the club championships and Triathlete of the Year.

Grant Young won the club points trophy. It was a fantastic evening, enjoyed by all, and ably directed by retiring president John Strawhorn and successor, Alastair Ness.

Now 2019 looks like being no less busy and interesting, with several athletes having already been selected to represent GB in Romania and Spain.

The Turkey Trot is on Boxing Day, featuring 5k and 10 km runs, and can be entered on Entry Central website.