Tri club take on the world

Perth Triathlon Club’s virtual challenge with their Australian namesake proved to be an enlightening experience.

The clubs connected online during the coronavirus pandemic to compete against each other and lift spirits when events across the country were cancelled.

Members were tasked to reach 14,689kms - the distance between the clubs - throughout the month of June. But the challenge was soon lengthened.

Andrew Miller, head coach of Perth Triathlon Club here in Scotland, said:“We got to the magic number of 14,689kms within two weeks, beating our Aussie rivals by 1000km.

“As we still had the rest of June to race, we decided we’d have an immediate rematch and race home.

“We reached the distance last Sunday, meaning it took us four weeks exactly to race around the world. We beat Australia on the race home too.

“We kept our members updated on our progress by letting them know where they “would be”if we were doing it for real.

“And as such, we visited Cairo, Bangalore, Jakarta, Perth Australia, Hawaii, Albuquerque, Newfoundland and back home to Perth.”

Coupled with the endurance challenge, members from both clubs even joined together to take part in an online quiz.

The Aussies got the bragging rights with their general knowledge and Andrew hopes the relationship can be continued in the months and years to come.

“It was great to reach out and connect with Perth Triathlon Club, Australia,”he said. “We had sent each other good luck videos and managed to get together for a club quiz on Zoom - which they won.”