The Immedis Kilkenny Sprint Triathlon took place inKilkenny on Sunday the 21^st of July.

This popular event, which is organised by the KilkennyTriathlon Club, takes place in the grounds of Kilkenny Castle. There were twoevents on the day, a try-a-tri race consisting of a 250m swim, a 20km cycle anda 5km run and a sprint triathlon consisting of a 750m swim, a 20km cycle and a5km run. The weather on the day wasn’t great with lots of clouds and wind asthe competitors gathered in the grounds of the castle. Fortunately the rainstayed away for the duration of the races. Over 400 athletes were taking parton Sunday, including eight members of The Blackwater Triathlon Club, and therewas a great buzz around transition as the athletes prepared for the races. Thetry-a-tri race started first, followed shortly by the main event. The swimsection was downriver, through the city, with huge crowds lining the quays andbridges to cheer the swimmers on. Once out of the water the athletes headed outon the 20km bike section. It’s a fast and flat route, but very strong winds onthe day made it more challenging than usual. The final run section of the raceinvolved 3 loops of a track through the castle grounds. According to BlackwaterTriathlon Club’s Mick Beston, this run “has to be one of the nicest runs of all sprint triathlons in the country”.This is high praise indeed from Mick, who has competed in a lot of sprinttriathlons over the years. The Blackwater Triathlon Club contingent reallyenjoyed their day out in Kilkenny. In the try-a tri race, new BTC member,Willie Fitzharris, marked his triathlon debut with a very impressive thirdplace finish, crossing the line in 1:13:56. First home from the BTC crew in thesprint event was Harry Feeney in 1:21:31, followed by David Harte in 1:25:18.Our sole female representative on the day, Deidre Morrison, was next home,finishing in 1:27:07. The aforementioned Mick Beston came home in 1:27:27,followed by Jim Crowley in 1:33:47, Ken Power in 1:35:30 and Barney Kiernan in1:39:21. Well done to all of them and everyone else who took part on the day. The event was, as usual, very well organised with lots of stewards and greatencouragement from massive crowds watching it all .