Belvoir Tri Club’s Marjike De Groot was third in her age category at the Dambuster Olympic Triathlon
Belvoir Tri Club was out in force at the Dambuster Olympic Triathlon with some impressive results.
Set against the stunning backdrop of Rutland Water Reservoir, this ever-popular Olympic distance triathlon served up a real challenge – particularly in the water, where strong winds created choppy conditions and slower swim times across the board.
Marjike De Groot took part in the Club Championship event and walked away with a well-earned third in her age group and was first Belvoir lady home.
De Groot learned the valuable lesson that transition is not the time for a breather.
She crossed the line in 2hrs56min and said: “I’m more of a longer-distance kind of girl, so I was surprised I enjoyed it so much!”
Lisa Udall, the second lady back for Belvoir, finished seventh in her age group with a time of 3:00.16. A familiar face on this course, Udall was pleased with a strong bike and improved run.
“I had some unfinished business with this race due to a change of the bike course last year,” she said.
“I’m pleased with my bike time, but the swim remains a challenge - I’ll be back!”
Elizabeth Nevill, completing only her second standard distance triathlon, tackled a tough swim but held on strong through the bike and run, finishing in 3:19 for a great result in testing conditions.
Andrew Goddard led the Belvoir men and was thrilled to finish fourth out of 36 in his age group on his first attempt at this distance.
“I was first out of the water, then a few overtook me on the bike as I had to stop when my chain came off early on,” said Goddard.
“I held my position on the run. There were lots of positives – good pacing, no faffage in transition, solid fuelling, and a personal best on the 10k run.”
He crossed the line in an impressive time of 2:22.
Steve Moore, also making his Olympic distance debut, was second male home. A solid swim, a challenging bike in windy conditions, and a gritty run brought him home in 3:05.
Tom Dean, the club’s third male finisher, powered through the same tough swim and bike conditions to finish in 3:21 for a strong performance in a demanding race.
John Bateson and Manish Hiran completed the Chillswim Coniston, a challenging 5.25-mile swim across Lake Coniston in the beautiful Lake District.
Hiran finished in an impressive 2:38.37, placing seventh in his age category with Bateson following closely in a strong time of 2:46.03.
The Chillswim Coniston is carefully organised with seven separate start times based on swimmers’ mile pace. This event is the first leg of the prestigious Chillswim Triple Crown - an iconic open water swimming challenge that requires swimmers to complete end-to-end swims at the three largest lakes in the English Lake District within the same calendar year.
Sarah Terry gave everything at her first Duathlon World Championships (Sprint Distance) in Pontevedra.
She improved her transition from previous races and finished in 1:13 to be the third British female home. It means she has now qualified for the 2026 World Championships.
