The Riyadh Triathletes fourth triathlon of the season was held on a very hot Friday last week.
The event was the longest of the season so far so that a number of competitors decided to only participate in certain disciplines. For the 19 who undertook all three events it was a gruelling 1,200-meter swim, 30-kilometer ride and an eight-kilometer run.
With the swimmers setting off in two heats, heat two produced the fastest in the pool, again it was Alexandre Alberola (M-Open) in a time of 00:18:28, with Charlie Brown (M-Master) in second place in 20:01. In third place was Gary Williams (M-Veteran) with a time of 20:34. Williams was the only one of the group who went on to finish all three events.
The longer distance of the bike ride enabled the usual suspects of Gaeton Contrino (M-Veteran) and Antonio Castellanos (M-Open) to retake the first and second places, Contrino completing the ride in 55:50 and Castellanos in 57:20.
In third place, obviously benefitting from the experience of marking the route, was club co-chairperson, Paul McParland (M-Senior) beating the hour by just one second.
The run section was won by Gary McGregor (M-Open), who only participated in the run, in a time of 33:29. In second place, with a time 34:54, but benefitting from not participating in the bike section, was Alberola. In third place was Contrino, who after completing the swim and the bike ride finished with a run time of 35:00.
In the Category B race Fiona Nichol (F-Veteran) took first place in the pool, in a time of 24:48, with team member Pavla Arbelovska (F-Open) (26:08) in second place. Jana Jaruskova (F-Open) took third in a time of 29:23.
Jaruskova then moved up to take pole position in the bike ride, with a time of 1:10:28, Nichol taking second place with a time of 1:11:35 and Liz Laughton (F-Open) moving up into third place with a ride time of 1:16:45.
Laughton, known for her excellent running ability, was able to put in a strong finish and complete the run in 42:06, with Nichol holding second place in a time of 51:15, enabling Nichol to win overall. Jaruskova, took third place in just four seconds over the hour and held third place overall.
All the competitors would like to thank the supporters and organizers for their ongoing support during the early morning starts.
Riyadh Triathletes would also like to thank Carrefour @5 le Mall for their support for this season.
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Results:
Category A: 1st: Gaeton Contrino (M – V), 1:52:38; 2nd. Antonio Castellanos (M — O), 1:55:12 3rd: Gary Williams (M – V), 2:02:12.
Category B: 1st .Fiona Nichol (F – V), 2:27:38; 2nd Liz Laughton (F – O) 2:30:16; 3rd Jana Jaruskova (F –O) 2:39:55.
Contrino holds off hot opposition to win again
