THE Irish Pony Club winter Triathlon/Biathlon championships, sponsored by Carr & Day & Martin, was held last Sunday in Athy, where the run and swim phases were staged at K Leisure, while the shoot took place at the nearby Ardscoil na Tríonóide.

Duhallow’s Caroline Roche, a winner at the earlier Co Clare and North Kilkenny competitions, displayed consistency across all three phases of the Senior Girls’ Triathlon to win on a total of 2,590 points. Roche’s closest rival in the 17-strong field was Leitrim’s swim phase winner, Grace Quinn (2,634), while her sister and fellow Duhallow Branch member, Victoria, finished third (2,590), having won the shoot. The run was won by Kildare’s Katie Dillon, who placed fourth (2,512) overall.

Also successful in Co Clare, Offaly’s Tom O’Rourke won the 10-runner Senior Boys’ championship, his excellent successful swim score boosting his total to 2,354 points. The Island’s John Asple James slotted into second (2,286), ahead of Golden Vale’s Alexander Maher (2,240). Tipperary’s Harry Barton topped the marks in the shoot phase, while Waterford’s Darragh Walsh, who finished fourth overall (2,237), claimed the honours in the run.

With the absence of the Ward Union’s Clodagh Reilly, who had completed a hat trick at the North Kilkenny competition, Co Carlow’s Ali Hughes moved up from third seven days earlier to clinch the Junior Girls’ title with 2,810 points. Duhallow’s Aoibhinn Turner proved a springer as she finished close-up in second (2,806), ahead of Co Limerick’s Grace Power (2,782), who topped the scores in the run.

In this 40-runner class, Kilkenny’s Anna Rose Hughes and North Kilkenny’s Elizabeth Cooke shared the win in the shoot, with Hannah Hussey of the Galway Mid County Branch claiming the swim phase.

Co Limerick’s JJ Power topped the final leaderboard in the Junior Boys’ championship with 3,043 points, beating Tipperary’s Jack Landy by a three-point margin. Also representing the Co Limerick Branch, the shoot winner Alex Barry finished third (3,033), while Tipperary’s Patrick O’Callaghan, who won the swim, slotted into fifth (2,688).

Pixie Murphy, who won at the competitions run by Wexford and her own North Kilkenny Branch, saw off 54 rivals to land the Minimus Girls’ Biathlon championship with 2,060 points, winning the swim phase en route. Co Limerick’s Julianne Kennedy placed second (2,042), with Duhallow’s Olivia Roche, younger sister of Victoria and Caroline, finishing third (2,010). Waterford’s Orlaith Frisby topped the run scores.

Competitive

Twenty-four IPC members contested the Minimus Boys’ championship, where Tipperary’s run phase winner, Dave Hennessy, topped the overall leaderboard at day’s end with 1,966 points, marginally beating Wexford’s Ben Galligan into second (1,964). Co Limerick’s Cathal Foster finished third (1,844), while the swim phase was won by Waterford’s Oliver Ormond.

Ward Union member Fionn O’Brien ran out the winner of the Fledgling Boys’ competition with 1,482 points, 800 of which came from his victory in the pool. Also from Area 7, Meath’s Harvey McCarthy finished second (1,436), with Tipperary’s Sam Hennesy placing third (1,434). The Killinicks’ Hugh Doran topped the scores in the run phase.

A winner in Clare and Wexford, Co Limerick’s Laura Foster bounced back from her second-place finish in Kilkenny to comfortably claim the Fledgling Girls’ Biathlon, her total of 1,410 points encompassing the top scores in both the swim and run phases. North Kilkenny’s Tamson Clarke filled the runner-up position (1,306), ahead of fellow clubmate Elsie Clarke (1,252).

The next IPC national competition is the Equieire dressage day at CoilÓg, Co Kildare on Tuesday, April 15th, which will be quickly followed by the Mackey national hunter trials championships at the Ballycahane Equestrian Centre, Co Limerick on Saturday, April 26th.