5 members of Wight Tri crossed the Solent to take part in the Challenging Event Southampton Fast Twitch Sprint Triathlon, held at Applemore Recreation Centre in Dibden Purlieu.
This is the season opener for many southern-based triathletes and sets a benchmark for many on how their winter training is progressing.
It opened with a 400m pool swim, followed by a run down metal steps into a muddy and cramped transition, then onto a 20.5km 1-lap undulating bike route around the New Forest and the local Dibden Purlieu town area.
The run was a 1 4.8km lap, starting with a leg-sapping uphill start and then winding around the local area, returning to the leisure centre for the finish line.
IW Talented Athlete Award member Jan Fletcher showed that her hard winter training is paying dividends by taking top spot on the podium by winning the female category outright with a super performance and fast time of 1:09:32. This was almost 2 mins ahead of the 2nd place, with Jan also posting the fasted female swim and run splits, and taking 20th overall position from over 150 competitors.
Jan is part of the 2023 Isle of Wight Triathlon team heading to the Guernsey Island Games in July, along with fellow Wight Tri team members, Dean Pike and Dan Shortman, who also raced today.
Dean and Dan had solid performances finishing 13th and 18th overall and 3rd and 4th in the 40-44 age category respectively.
Dean posted 1:04:31, just 50 secs behind the winner in his age group, with Dan in 1:08:08.
Mike Kimber and Martin Calmon completed the quintet of Wight Tri competitors with good performances too. Mike finished in 3rd in the 55-59 category and 34th male overall in 1:17:09 with Martin, 51st male and 6th in the 45-49 age group in 1:22:05.
