Thorpe Park attracts almost 500 triathletes to race for National Championship honours over the Sprint distance

Over 470 athletes descended on Thorpe Park in Surrey for the first Triathlon England National Championship of the year. With sunny conditions and rollercoasters in the background, the stage was set for a morning of compelling racing over the sprint distance course of 750m swim, 21km bike and 5km run.

First across the line was Sam Wade (25-29). Sam was the only person to go under one hour, finishing in a blistering 59:46 on a sunny day in the South East, beating Carl Shaw (35-39) and James Phillips (20-24) into second and third respectively. Speaking to Sam, he told us that he really enjoyed the flat and simple bike course, which made for a really quick bike split.

"It’s not often that you get to race with such a unique backdrop – running through the theme park on the final leg is a really nice add-on to the end of the race."

Next up for Sam is his first attempt at the Dambuster Triathlon, before heading off to Rotterdam for the ITU World Triathlon Championships in September.

Brit Tate (20-24) was the fastest female of the day, holding off the challenge of the fast-finishing Michelle Willocks (30-34) to take the win in 1:07:40. Brit told us that coming out of the water in second place was ideal ahead of her favourite leg, the cycle, which enabled her to take the lead on a fast, flat course and hold on for the win during the 5km run.

Battling an infection all week makes the result event more impressive. Brit is focussing mainly on sprint distance racing this season – you can catch her next week on the start line at Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds, with Dusseldorf and Rotterdam also in the pipeline.

Claire Stirling, Triathlon England Independent Director Business Strategy, thanked the organisers TriProject and their team of volunteers, as well as all the competitors and supporters for a great morning’s racing, urging people to become members of Triathlon England to make the Championships even more keenly fought.

TriProject and Thorpe Park will also host a British Triathlon Age-Group Team qualifier in September. More details about how to register your interest can be found here.

Next up in the Triathlon England Championships calendar is the National Aquathlon Championships, again taking place at Columbia Threadneedle World Triathlon Leeds on Saturday 10 June, where competitors will swim in Waterloo Lake the day before some of the world’s best triathletes. More information about the rest of the Triathlon England Championships can be found here.

TriProject Triathlon England National Sprint Distance Championships
Thorpe Park, Surrey – Sunday 4^th June 2017
750m / 21km / 5km

1^st – Sam Wade (Team Pedalcover) – 59:46 (25-29)
2^ND – Carl Shaw (Race Hub Triathlon Club) – 1:00:33 (35-39)
3^rd – James Phillips (9 Endurance) – 1:01:27 (20-24)
4^th – Rich Sumpter – 1:02:10 (35-39
5^th – Alex Lawton (Torq) – 1:02:51 (25-29)

1^st – Brit Tate (Hampstead Triathlon Club) – 1:07:40 (20-24)
2^nd – Michelle Willcocks – 1:07:56 (30-34)
3^rd – Rhiannon Middleton – 1:08:54 (20-24)
4^th – Mireille Cook – 1:09:06 (40-44)
5^th – Amy Prtichard – 1:09:16 (35-39)

Full results: visit here

Photographs from the day will be available soon on Tri Project’s Facebook page.