British Triathlon Super Series: Issy Challenges The Best Of The Best!

Form 4 pupil Issy Morris has spent the last two weekends competing in the British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super Series, an invitational series of five races for the most promising young triathletes in the UK. This is Issy’s first year competing at the youth elite level (U17s) and she has proved she can compete with the best by putting in two very solid performances.

A bike crash ended her chances in the first event, the British Elite Duathlon Championships held at Rockingham, Northamptonshire in March, but this did not deter Issy from lining up in the second event held in Hyde Park London on the 2nd June.

Whilst the senior elite athletes warmed up ahead of the PruHealth World Triathlon London, the 30 young athletes competed in the National Aquathlon Championships, the second leg of the British Triathlon Youth and Junior Super Series. It provided a spectacle for the crowds on a glorious day in London with intense competition amongst the athletes who battled it out over the swim/run course – a 500m swim in the Serpentine followed by a 2.5km run along the lakeside. This was also the same course as the one used in the London 2012 Olympics.

Issy managed to finish in an impressive 8th position. This was a great performance in her first year at this level of competition – only 1 minute separating the top 10 athletes!

Last weekend the competition moved on to Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. This third leg of the competition consisted of a 400m lake swim, 13.2 km bike and 3.1 km run. Issy managed the course in a time of 45.25, which was good enough to secure another 8th place. Issy was pleased with the result and with exams out of the way is looking to improve on this in the final two events held in August, at Liverpool’s Albert Dock and the British Triathlon Under 20s Festival which will be held in Nottingham.

Whilst preparing for these events, Issy also managed to run the fastest 3000m time recorded in Wales this year, at the Powys Schools Athletics Championships. She is the current Welsh U15 Outdoor 3000m Champion, U17 Indoor 3000m Champion and is now ranked No1 in Wales at U17 level for this event.

Head of Christ College, Emma Taylor, said: “Issy is going from strength to strength. It’s just typical of Issy to bounce back from a bike crash in her event in March, to challenging the best of the best around Hyde Park recently. This his her first year in this level of competition and she has already established a reputation as a formidable competitor, and one to watch for the future!”