GB Paratriathletes kick-off Grand Final in fine style

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ITU Paratriathlon World Championships in Rotterdam
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Two Gold, Three Silver and Three Bronze for GB in Rotterdam

Was that the best performance ever from the Great Britain Paratriathlon team?

Now that was an impressive morning.

The introduction of Paratriathlon onto the the programme at the Paralympic Games has, as with any sport, raised the standards across the board and further expanded the international reach of the sport. With competition deeper, medals are much harder to come by. As one of the pioneers of the sport, the Great Britain team is well used to collecting up plenty of Gold, Silver and Bronze at major championship events over the years. There will, I’m sure, have been instances where ‘more’ medals have been collected in years past – but Friday mornings performances at the 2017 ITU World Paratriathlon Championships may well be the best yet, in terms of depth, ever.

Paralympic Champion Andy Lewis (PTS2) continued his winning run to add another Gold to his CV, while Dave Ellis (guided by top triathlete, Carl Shaw), added a second British Gold in the visually impaired (PTSVI) division, crossing the line just 12 seconds clear of Silver.

Silver medals were added by Jade Jones (PTSWC) and Paralympic Silver medallist, Lauren Steadman (PTS5), who came so close to beating the Paralympic Gold medallist, Grace Norman (USA). The gap at the finish? Just four seconds. There was further Silver for Steven Crowley (PTS4), who finished behind the reigning European Champion, Alexis Hanuinquant (FRA).

Three Bronze medals were added by Joe Townsend (PTSWC) – his first World Championship podium – Fran Brown (PTS2), in her first World Championship, while Melissa Reid (guided by Hazel McLeod) matched her Bronze medal from Rio in the PTVI category.

While not a podium this time, even fourth place for George Peasgood (PTS5) was arguably the best result to date for the young and fast-improving athlete.

All-in-all, a fantastic performance across the board, which Head Coach Jonathan Riall will, I hope, be rightly proud off. Truly, a fantastic job this morning to the whole team.

Rotterdam ITU Paratriathlon World Championships – Friday 15th September 2017
750m / 20km / 5km

Results by category (podium finishers plus Great Britain athletes)

PTSWC

Female

1st – Emily Tapp (AUS) – 1:20:28
2nd – Jade Jones (GBR) – 1:21:26
3rd – Eva Maria Moral Pedrero (ESP) – 1:24:12

Male

1st – Jetze Plat (NED) – 1:02:18
2nd – Geert Schipper (NED) – 1:04:27
3rd – Joseph Townsend (GBR) – 1:10:37

PTS2

Female

1st – Liisa Lilja (FIN) – 1:23:30
2nd – Allysa Seely (USA) – 1:24:50
3rd – Fran Brown (GBR) – 1:25:09

Male

1st – Andy Lewis (GBR) – 1:09:55
2nd – Mark Barr (USA) – 1:11:09
3rd – Mohamed Lahna (ITU) – 1:11:21

PTS3

Female

1st – Elise Marc (FRA) – 1:23:35
2nd – Anna Plotnikova (RUS) – 1:24:30
3rd – Maike Hausberger (GER) – 1:25:33

Male

1st – Daniela Molina (ESP) – 1:11:22
2nd – Justin Godfrey (AUS) – 1:14:07
3rd – Max Gelhaar (GER) – 1:15:19
4th – Ryan Taylor (GBR) – 1:19:25

PTS4

Female

1st – Mami Tani (JPN) – 1:18:18
2nd – Sally Pilbeam (AUS) – 1:18:50
3rd – Patricia Collins (USA) – 1:28:17

Male

1st – Alexis Hanuinquant (FRA) – 1:04:15
2nd – Steven Crowley (GBR) – 1:06:52
3rd – Jamie Brown (USA) – 1:07:54

PTS5

Female

1st – Grace Norman (USA) – 1:09:49
2nd – Lauren Steadman (GBR) – 1:09:53
3rd – Gwladys Lemoussu (FRA) – 1:12:19

6th – Claire Cashmore (GBR) – 1:21:38

Male

1st – Stefan Daniel (CAN) – 1:01:20
2nd – Jairo Ruiz Lopez (ESP) – 1:03:21
3rd – Chris Hammer (USA) – 1:03:44
4th – George Peasgood (GBR) – 1:04:15

PTSVI

Female

1st – Katie Kelly (AUS) – 1:13:48
2nd – Susanna Rodriguez (ESP) – 1:15:02
3rd – Melissa Reid (GBR) – 1:17:05 – guided by Hazel McLeod

Male

1st – Dave Ellis (GBR) – 1:05:21 – guided by Carl Shaw
2nd – Aaron Scheidies (USA) – 1:05:33
3rd – Vasyl Zakrevskyi (UKR) – 1:07:07