Tri club celebrate best-ever year

Mansfield Triathlon Club members have been celebrating the club’s most successful year to date at its annual awards presentation night.

The year saw members compete in multiple events throughout the UK and across Europe and marked the club’s best performance in the East Midlands junior series of races.

The club recognised its members’ achievements in a number of categories.

Male Athlete of the Year went to Jordan Boam. During the year Jordan won his first national race medals, was Midland Sprint Triathlon Series age-group winner, East Midlands Series Off-Road Duathlon age-group winner and achieved qualification to represent GB in the European Standard Distance Duathlon Championships in 2015.

Female Athlete of the Year was won by Sharon Barton, who represented GB in the World Duathlon Championships in Spain in 2014 and achieved fourth in age group at the Stockton Sprint Duathlon to qualify for GB in the 2015 European Standard Distance Duathlon Championships.

The Achiever of the Year title went to long-distance specialist Matthew Elliott, who raced in Lanzarote Ironman and the Wild Boar 70.3 half-ironman distance event.

Club Person of the Year went to club secretary Claire Allison in recognition of her tireless behind-the-scenes activities to ensure the club is efficiently run for the benefit of its members.

The achievements of the club’s juniors were also recognised.

The Tristar of the Year Award, for overall commitment and achievement, went to Daisy Wilson, with Jack Mottram in second and Bradley Shepherd in third.

The coaches’ award for the best attitude to training went to Holly Edgerton for her team work, skills improvement and for helping her follow club mates.

Competitor of the Year, awarded for best overall performance in the East Midlands Junior Series, went to Kieran Smith in recognition of his outstanding race results this year.

The Juniors’ Junior Award, voted for by all club juniors to acknowledge someone’s all-round contribution to the junior club, went to Harry Elliott for his friendliness, enthusiasm and his ‘never give up’ approach to his sport.

The presentation night, attended by around 100 club members, included a raffle for an impressive array of prizes donated by club members and a series of local businesses keen to support the club. The evening also involved selecting the winner of the club’s single ticket allocation for the London Marathon.

This year’s winner, after a hard-fought round of Blankety Blank, went to Sally Paylor, who has been attempting to obtain an entry to the race for the last five years.

“This was our biggest and best presentation night ever,” said secretary Claire Allison.

“We’ve had a fantastic year. Triathlon and duathlon are demanding sports, requiring determination and discipline, so it’s great to acknowledge everyone’s efforts and achievements by getting together and celebrating with each other.

“We’d like to thank everyone who contributed, especially the local businesses which kindly donated such fabulous prizes.”

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