Five golds for British Paratriathlon team in Auckland

Issue ID: December 2012

The GE Great Britain Paratriathlon Team has five world champions following the record breaking ITU Paratriathlon World Championships in Auckland.

Britain’s Karen Darke, Faye McClelland, Iain Dawson, Steven Judge and Matthew Emmerson were all crowned world champions with a further three silver and one bronze medal helping the GE Great Britain Paratriathlon Team top the medal table.

Faye McClelland and Steven Judge defended their titles in the Tri-4 and Tri-3 categories respectively. McClelland finished one place ahead of team mate Clare Cunningham.

Karen Darke made a dramatic debut to international paratriathlon with a winning margin of more than ten minutes in the Tri-1 category over defending champion and team mate, Jane Egan. Darke, 41, was paralysed from the chest down in a climbing accident when she was 21. At this summer’s London 2012 Paralympic Games she was a double silver medallist in the Paracycling events.

Elizabeth McTernan made it a clean sweep for the GE Great Britain Paratriathlon Team with Tri-1 bronze.

Iain Dawson got back to winning ways in the Tri-6 category for visually impaired athletes. Racing with guide, Luke Watson, Dawson regained the title he won in Budapest in 2010. Also competing in the visually impaired category, Melissa Reid won silver. She was narrowly defeated by Spain’s Susana Rodriguez.

Competing in the Tri-5 category, Matthew Emmerson, made a successful ITU Paratriathlon World Championship debut with gold. The former rugby player came to paratriathlon following an accident that resulted in permanent damage to his knee.

British Triathlon’s Paratriathlon Manager, Jonathan Riall commented that the British results were the “best ever” and that the team is “on top of the world again.” Paratriathlon will make its debut at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016 on Copacabana Beach.

GE Great Britain Paratriathlon Team medals:

Gold

Karen Darke (TRI-1)

Steven Judge (TRI-3)

Faye McClelland (TRI-4)

Matthew Emmerson (TRI-5)

Iain Dawson (TRI-6)

Silver

Jane Egan (TRI-1)

Clare Cunningham (TRI-4)

Melissa Reid (TRI-6)

Bronze

Elizabeth McTernan (TRI-1)

Matt Baird Editor of Cycling Plus magazine

About

Matt is a regular contributor to 220 Triathlon, having joined the magazine in 2008. He’s raced everything from super-sprint to Ironman, duathlons and off-road triathlons, and can regularly be seen on the roads and trails around Bristol. Matt is the author of Triathlon! from Aurum Press and is now the editor of Cycling Plus magazine.