Pupil's great success at junior triathlon

Farlington Year 8 pupil Issy Hayes won the world's largest junior triathlon last month. Held at the historic Hever Castle in Kent, Issy won gold on Sunday 25 th September.
By The Newsroom
Published 17th Oct 2016, 08:00 BST
Updated 8th Jun 2018, 02:26 BST

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Issy Hayes. Photo courtesy of Farlington SchoolIssy Hayes. Photo courtesy of Farlington School
Issy Hayes. Photo courtesy of Farlington School

The event has been held annually over the last eight years and Issy’s time of 29 minutes 51 seconds means she is the first girl ever in her age category to break the 30 minute barrier.

The children’s races, with over 1300 participants, were split over two days (8-10 year olds on Saturday afternoon and 11-15 year olds on Sunday afternoon). The Half Iron Gauntlet’s unique swim loop around the River Eden and Sixteen-Acre Island is hailed as one of the best open water swim routes on the UK circuit. The largely off-road run circumnavigates the estate and award-winning castle grounds before athletes make the dash to the tree-lined finishing chute beside the lake. Issy was absolutely thrilled with her performance saying that all her hard work at training and great coaching led to a comfortable victory.

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At the recent Biathlon qualifier in Ascot, Issy won her 1600m run and also won her swim, making her top scorer and ensuring her place at the National Championships later in October.

Issy, together with Amelia Wright, Year 9, competed for the South East regional triathlon team at the national championships in Scotland and have also been selected to represent GBR at the World Modern Biathlon Championships in Florida in November.

Sara Whittaker, Farlington Director of PE and Games, said: “Sport is a vital part of life at Farlington and we believe it has a positive impact on the girls’ academic and personal lives in terms of self-confidence, health and team-building. Issy’s efforts demonstrate that hard work, repetition and constant practice are keys to successful performance.

“Issy is a fantastic athlete with a great attitude and lots of potential. To succeed in this sport demonstrates her all-round ability.

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“We are very proud of her at Farlington. As a Sport and Drama Scholar, she is a great role model to the other students. I’m sure she will build on this success.”

Contributed by Farlington School

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