British glory for young triathlete

A young Llanymynech triathlete has stunned the Triathlon world with a brilliant victory at the British Age Group Sprint Championships held in Cardiff on Sunday.

Sixteen-year-old Deri McCluskey stormed to victory in the U23 age category, despite his chain coming off on the 20km bike section, forcing him to work harder before taking on the 5km final run.

McCluskey was leading after the 750m swim and eventually won in a brilliant time of 1 hour 00:07 secs to book his place on the start line for next year’s 2023 World Sprint Distance Triathlon Championships in Hamburg, Germany.

“The water was very choppy which worked in my favour as others aren't used to it meaning I came out of the water first,” he said.

“My chain came off on the bike so I had to work a lot harder than I wanted, meaning my run legs did not feel as fresh as I wanted, but still managed to hold on during the run.

“It was a great experience to race in front of lots of people in my Welsh kit in the capital.”

The youngster is a pupil at Llanfyllin High School.

PICTURE: Courtesy of Deri McCluskey.