RECORDS TUMBLE AT INCREDIBLE HIGH5 SNOWMAN TRIATHLON

With Mediterranean water temperatures and new records set, the 2018 HIGH5 Snowman Triathlon saw hundreds of athletes bask in a weekend of sunshine, summits and success.

The keystone of the ‘SUUNTO Adventure Triathlon Series’, the HIGH5 Snowman Triathlon took place in the stunning scenery surrounding Plas y Brenin, the National Mountain Sports Centre, in Capel Curig. Incredible scenery that was matched by the unbelievable feats by our athletes over the 2 days of racing in Snowdonia National Park.

SATURDAY

Saturday of the Snowman plays host to a selection of the shorter races, with a Sprint Triathlon and various TriStars Junior Aquathlon events for children aged 8-15. New for 2018 was the addition of an Adventure Duathlon as part of the refreshed Adventure Series.

The Sprint race, which sees a swim in the stunning Llynau Mymbyr followed by a fast and scenic ride through the iconic villages of Betws y Coed and Llanrwst,was well attended with some close racing and was won by Daniel Elliot who pipped former winner, Alex Foster to the post by just 13 seconds! This takes him to the top of The Suunto Adventure Triathlon rankings in the 2019 Sprint Category. The winner of the Woman’s Race was Sara Willholt, who was closely followed in second by Chloe Vaughan under 2 minutes later.

The all new Snowman Duathlon, took in much of the same course as the triathlon but featured a gruelling climb and technical descent on Run 1 which split the pack before places changed around on the 30km Cycle into the depths of Snowdonia National Park. The Men’s Duathlon was eventually won by Stephen Abbott with a time of 01:25:33, while Rhian Roxborough of TriRoxTraining and Gog Tri, took first place in the women’s race with a time of 01:29:16, beating many of the male athletes.

Rounding off Saturday’s action was the Junior Aquathlon and Aqua Sphere Half Mile & Mile Open Water Swim. Our Triathlon Stars of the future took part in the Junior Aquathlon with the winning swim only 30 seconds slower than the winning Sprint Triathlon swim from the morning.

The Open Water Swim Half mile event was won by Shane Skillin in a time of 00:12:19 and the Mile Swim was won by Jo Mitchinson for Team Aquasphere UK in a time of 00:20:00 flat!

SUNDAY

Another beautiful morning welcomed the competitors on day two of the HIGH5 Snowman Triathlon and saw the Legend event kicking off at 0700 to make the most of Snowdonia’s quiet roads. With a Swim of 1,900 metres, 91km Bike, 21km Run; this is truly a test for the toughest of competitors.

The race was dominated from the start by James Scott-Farringdon who led out of the water onto the bike before chewing up the mountain on the punishing 21km run. Scott- Farringdon finished in a winning time 05:16:14, Cutting the best part of an hour off the 6hr 11 min course record of 2017

Second place went to Matt Smith and Third to Tom Pickering, both well within the original course record. Having shaved minutes off the bike in what were almost perfect cycling conditions.

The women’s Legend event was won by Aim High regular, Helen Teasdale closely pursued by Katy Nelson. Kate Hargreaves made up the top three in this hard fought battle.

In the Classic race, featuring the mighty Moel Siabod, Jack Hindle took first place ahead of Llewellyn Holmes with Jack Smith-Keegan rounding off the men’s top three. Katy Vose took the top spot in the women’s race, followed by Becky Schofield and Rebecca Lodge close behind in second and third respectively.

The Snowman Savage, a combination of both the Sprint on Saturday and the Classic on Sunday, was won by Daniel Elliot and Rebecca Lodge.

A spokesperson for Always Aim High, organisers of the HIGH5 Snowman Triathlon, said: “We have seen some amazing feats of endurance here at the High 5 Snowman Triathlon. We’ve had over 5000 athletes take part over the past 8 years and seen our course record absolutely smashed again and again! The Calibre of athletes just gets better and better.”

“We’d like to thank every single one of the competitors across the two days, as well as their supporters and of course all the marshals along the way, our races simply wouldn’t happen without their tireless dedication and enthusiasm”.

“We’d also like to thank Plas y Brenin National Mountain Sports Centre for supporting the race, as well as the residents of Capel Curig, llanrwst, Betws y Coed and the surrounding area as well as our race partners, especially HIGH5 and Aqua Sphere ”.

Full race results by TDL Event Services, and links to race photography courtesy of Sport Pictures Cymru and Mel Parry Event Photography can be found online.

For more information on Always Aim High’s 2018/9 race calendar, visit alwaysaimhighevents.com

Selected Snowman Triathlon Results Below:

2018 Snowman Legend results:

Top 3 Men:

1: James Scott-Farringdon-05:16:14

2: Matt Smith-05:27:24

3: Tom Pickering-05:32:29

Top 3 Women:

1: Helen Teasdale-06:38:40

2: Katy Nelson-06:46:20

3: Kate Hargreaves-07:11:11

2018 Snowman Classic Triathlon results:

Top 3 Men:

1: Jack Hindle-03:11:47

2: Llewellyn Holmes-03:17:13

3: Jack Smith-Keegan-03:17:53

Top 3 Women:

1: Katy Vose-03:57:01

2: Becky Schofield-03:59:54

3: Rebecca Lodge -04:03:40

2018 Snowman Sprint Triathlon results:

Top 3 Men

1: Daniel Elliot-01:17:37

2: Alex Foster-01:17:50

3: Tom Greeves-01:19:28

Top 3 Women

1: Sara Willholt-01:25:21

2: Chloe Vaughan-01:27:05

3: Rebecca Lineker-01:30:59

2018 Snowman Sprint Duathlon results:

Top 3 Men

1: Stephen Abbott-01:25:33

2: Rob Kennard-01:27:09

3: Osian Wyn-01:29:16

Top 3 Women

1: Rhian Roxborough - 01:29:16

2: Hannah Jones - 01:42:26

3: Janet Marsden - 01:50:02

2018 Snowman Savage Winners

Top 3 Men

1: Daniel Elliot-04:46:41

2: Gareth Bowyer-04:58:25

3: Brendan Kennedy-05:03:45

Top 3 Women

1: Rebecca Lodge-05:29:01

2: Rebecca Lineker-05:29:01

3: Julie Dala-06:03:27