Matt Malloy smashes the competition at Gatorade Dublin City Triathlon! Dublin, 28th August 2011. Over 900 competitors arrived at the start line this morning at 8am for the 2011 Gatorade Dublin City Triathlon which took place in the River Liffey and the Phoenix Park. It was one of the final races on the Vodafone National Series by Triathlon Ireland, making it one of the most competitive races of the year. Toeing the line at the Garda Boat Club were a number of top ranked athletes in the Vodafone National Series including – Bjorn Ludick, Shane Scully, Andrew Kavanagh, Wayne Reid and Kevin Keane.
Also vying for honours were 2011 European 30-34yrs Age Group Champion Mark Horan, 2011 European 30-34yrs Olympic Distance Bronze medalist Mark Nolan, 9:02 Ironman Matt Molloy, Caroline Kearney winner Craig Longmore and High Performance Junior Russell White.
Setting the pace early on was Russell White, emerging from the water first in the swim. Strong swimming from the Junior Elite Athlete, who was competing over the Olympic distance for the first time, allowed him to grab the initial advantage out of T1. Not to be out done were the like of Matt Molloy, Bjorn Ludick and Shane Scully, who all exited the water within seconds of one another, chasing down the young Co. Down man. Unfortunately it was not White’s day as he suffered from a puncture on the bike and was forced to withdraw from the race.
Matt Molloy then pulled away from his competitors gaining a 45 second lead heading into the run. He finished strongly 1 minute 24 seconds ahead of the rest of the field with a total time of 2:03:39 for the 1500m swim, 40km bike and 10km run. Kevin Keane came second with 2:05:03 and with the fastest bike split of the day. Shane Scully who had battled with Keane for second place, came third with a time of 2:05:12.
In the ladies race, Amy Wolfe (the current National Standard Distance Champion) stormed home followed by Aoife Lynch (National Sprint Distance Champion) and Katie Cooke in third place.
The Super Sprint attracted hundreds of first time triathletes, whose goal was to complete the triathlon. The Super Sprint also served as the final instalment for the National Junior Series and the podium was dominated by the young and upcoming athletes, Constantine Doherty in the men’s race and Emma Sharkey in the ladies’ race. Each competitor received a treat of an ice-cream cone and a finishers t-shirt as they crossed the finish line to celebrate their victory.