 Breakdowns in Bonmahon
In the end they bounced back from the brink of breakdown but in the beginning the cracks were showing and Willie Fitzpatrick was the first to go.
"Who pinched me helmet, me helmet, me helmet" roared the Portlaoise man. Frightened spectators outside the transition area knew he wasn't to be tangled with and tried in vein to console him.
But he couldn't be calmed. With the confusion growing, his head squashed inside another man's helmet, he took to the road on some poor soul's pride and joy and only realised his mistake as he tried to stuff his toes into the same man's bike shoes.
Dawning on him now, he turned for home only to be met by a teary eyed Tsang - the victim in all this - "I thought she was gone forever!" Bike back in the hands of its rightful owner it was obvious to all that the love he's fostered for his Planet X puppy will never die.
The pressure was telling and Paul Brennan was next - the man with two left feet only made it to the start line with seconds to spare having spent the morning begging for a suitable pair of size 11's.
And then there was Kevin Bracken, who needed reminding that a bicycle has two wheels - a front one and a back one.
However, while all around them were losing their heads, two were losing their hair. ‘The Bald Bombers’; the two-man relay team who are fast becoming an inseparable double act took this race by the scruff and regained third spot and a podium finish when Mark Downey relieved Balazs Keresztury of his baton before going baldy headed for the line.
But a day like this wouldn't be complete without a maiden voyage. Anna Plewa duly delivered. The pride of Poland completed her first ever sea-swim triathlon and did so in style. She calmed a choppy Irish sea - claimed the mountains as her own on the bike and coasted home on the run to a hero's welcome.
Humble afterwards she said: “I am very pleased, Mark (McManus) was with me on the swim so I knew I would be safe and I really liked the bike and the run.”
Trilogy were well represented at this event which raised much needed funds for the Royal Lifesaving Society in Waterford with Pawel Debakowski claiming fifth in a top class field that included Ireland’s premier athlete, Trevor Woods. Willie Fitzpatrick calmed himself down and took 12th place, Karl McCann (13th overall), Taco Camphuisjen, Brian Bonham and Finn Ryan putting in particularly impressive displays, and finishing in the top half of the field.
Check out the photos from the day (see below); results will follow on release.
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John Collins Memorial Triathlon
