Ironman success for Lymington Triathlon Club in Barcelona
A LARGE contingent of Lymington Triathlon Club athletes travelled to Spain for the 2022 Ironman Barcelona, with the club finishing as the second-placed team and Valeria Sesto taking silver.
Matthew Brearley and Valeria Sesto competed in their first-ever Ironman, taking on the full-distance event consisting of a 3.9km swim, 112-mile bike leg and a marathon.
Meanwhile, in the Ironman 70.3 event, featuring the same events but half the distances, a 12-person LTC team took silver, while Antonia Cox won her age category in the 70.3 women’s event.
Sesto received an entrance place for an Ironman event for her 40th birthday nearly 10 years ago. However, despite having access only to a sub-standard bike, she felt the time was right.
Although she experienced mild Covid symptoms in the build-up to the event, it did not hold her back as she emerged third from the water before reaching the final transition stage after the bike leg in eighth place. After overtaking multiple times during the marathon, she ultimately crossed the line in second place.
Sesto said: “This event was the best thing I have done in a very, very long time. I absolutely loved it. I remember coming down the hill at the end of the first lap on the bike and thinking, ‘I’m loving every minute’.
“It was lovely to see other Lymington people along the course, and we even had LTC members coming over to support, like Derek Lee. Also, my husband Clive was a brilliant supporter the whole weekend.”
Brearley is a very experienced triathlete and is consistent throughout all three disciplines. However, this was the longest event he had contested.
When Antonia and Paul Cox mentioned entering the Barcelona 70.3 to celebrate their 60th birthdays, they did not foresee it would lead to a large team of LTC members entering.
A total of 22 people connected to Lymington, including athletes, friends and supporters, went to the event, with Antonia romping home in the 60-64 age group, beating second place by over an hour to win, qualifying for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Finland in August next year.
The Allen family’s attempt to combine for a team relay nearly failed when their son Chester could not get to Spain because of a passport issue. Thankfully friend Richard Bray stepped in and they finished in a very respectable 16th place.
Lymington Triathlon Club chair Antonia said: “The whole event has been such a fantastic team effort, from all the members supporting us in our training this year, who were tracking us on the day and who’ve been inundating us with messages ever since.
“It was a real privilege to collect the award for the whole club.”
