Legget leads them home in first triathlon challenge

SHETLAND Triathlon Club held its first triathlon in the isles last Sunday morning, a mini-distance event at Sandwick.

Ten competitors entered the race and for most of them it was their first experience of a triathlon event. As they warmed up in the pool the spectators gathered to witness Shetland’s newest sport being tackled over a 300 metre swim, 7km cycle and 2km run.

Lynsey Henderson showed her dominance in the water and was first out by over a minute. However, she struggled through transition as her inexperience showed as her bike was not set up properly for a quick change and she lost valuable seconds, if not minutes, from her lead.

Next out of the water was the ever-improving Robin Atkinson, followed closely by Sandy Legget. They both produced fast transitions to get out on their bikes and chase down Lynsey.

The remaining swimmers were very closely grouped and had very little between them when they finished their swims. This is where a good transition comes in to play to get you out in front of the others, and Andrew Grant put in the best to get him out and chasing the front three. He was followed by John Pumford-Green, Caroline Simpson, Donna Mainland, John Anderson, Tim Ash and Lee Moulder.

First back in from the cycle was a tight group of Robin, Sandy and Andrew who had all showed their strength on the bike by catching and passing Lynsey. As they were so close together the transition would be crucial and Sandy’s experience of triathlon showed as he was in and out in just 10 seconds, giving him a great start on Robin in second, and Andrew in third.

Lynsey showed massive improvement on the bike to hold fourth place, giving her a chance to use her running ability to catch the front three.

By this stage, though, everyone had gone out quite hard and no one really had the legs to catch the person in front of them, with Sandy holding on to take the victory, Robin second and Andrew third.

A club spokesman said: “I would like to thank all the volunteers involved in the smooth running of the event, without whom there would be no event. Also I would like to thank Kevin Jones for the photos, the Sandwick pool staff for all their help, and say a big well done to all the competitors.”

The next event is in Whalsay on Sunday, 20th July at 12pm. Entry is only open to club members, details available at www.shetlandtriathlonclub.co.uk