This Sunday’s Waterways Ireland sponsored triAthlone will see two firsts with the staging of the European Junior Championships as part of the race and the integration of the Irish Paratriathlon Championships as well.
A strong Irish Squad, led by Con Doherthy (Bronze Medallist at the Junior World Championships 2012) will be challenging for European Cup medals on home soil for the first time ever. It promises to be an exciting spectacle, with the genuine stars of the future battling it out in the River Shannon and on the streets of the Midland’s Town for European Honours.
The hosting of the Paratriathlon Championships will see Para athletes from across Ireland and the UK taking part and competing for the title of Paratriathlon Champion. Paratriathlon will be a new event at the Rio Paralympic Games and has been targeted as being of medal potential for Ireland by Triathlon Ireland and Paralympics Ireland.
Chris Kitchen, CEO of Triathlon Ireland spoke about the development of this side of the sport in his interview as part of the Sport for Business Leaders in Sport series of Interviews.
2012 Olympian Gavin Noble leads the field in the headline event and is favourite to be crowned Champion this year, but certainly not without a challenge. With almost every county in Ireland represented and up to 15,000 spectators expected to line the streets, Athlone is gearing up for another big step forward in the profile of the sport.
Waterways Ireland TriAthlone have developed a free and downloadable App for for the 2013 event. The goal was to give triathletes all the information they need to compete in the event, with access to training tips, social media links and live timing for users so they can track athletes as they make their way around the course.
”Waterways Ireland became involved with TriAthlone, recognising the potential of the event to generate huge awareness for the inland waterways on the island and internationally and impact on the numbers of people using the waterways recreationally,” said Waterways Ireland CEO John Martin.
The event begins with a swim in the River Shannon, from which the competitors will then take to their bikes through south County Roscommon before the town-centre run which sees the event finish in the heart of Athlone.
Read more of our coverage and analysis of the commercial world of Triathlon.
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triAthlone boost for Sports Tourism
