Tri Talking Sport

Jumping right in and embracing life as a professional triathlete she has already proven herself as one to watch.  Her debut IRONMAN in Australia saw her take 4th place with a sub-nine-hour finish in a time of eight hours fifty-three minutes on the back of her podium finishes in Staffordshire, Finland and Weymouth IM 70.3 races and a 16th place finish at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Nice last year. 

The ETU Elite Middle Distance Champion of 2019 added a British National Cycling title to her trophy cabinet last week winning the 100 mile TT in a time of 3:55:22. 

With a positive can-do attitude, her passion for her profession as both an athlete and physiotherapist shine through in this episode. She has set some lofty goals for herself in the past and exceeded them, her goals for 2021 and beyond are well within her reach, we can expect to see a lot more from Katrina Matthews in the future. 

The former An Post Chain Reaction rider tackled the everresting Challenge in early July setting the 5th fastest time worldwide for the challenge on his first attempt, setting a new Irish record for the 8,848m of climbing required to achieve the title in the process, a feat that shot him back into the spotlight in the world of cycling. 

There were murmurs after the first record that maybe there was more in the tank, that he could go faster and possibly set a new world record.  He quietly went about his business in the intervening weeks, reviewing his performance, his bike, the route and made some changes to seek out those marginal gains that would see him set a new Everesting World record in a time of 7:04:41, almost 23 minutes faster than Alberto Contador’s time of 7:27:20 which was set just three weeks earlier.  

We chat about that World Record and about his life on two wheels from the early days of cycling after school to his time as a professional rider. He has raced with some of the best riders in the world on the professional scene represented club, county and country on his bike for numerous years.  

 Returning home after his professional career he has taken the domestic scene by storm with many podiums and race wins to his name including a double Shay Elliott win in 2018 and 2019, his plans for a three in a row scuppered by Covid 19. He has also won the Donegal Ultra 555 twice and has set his sights on winning this year's race and breaking the course record in the process. 

This is a great chat with an athlete who leaves no stone unturned in his race preparation and training, at all times seeking out the best performance from himself and his equipment with meticulous planning and number crunching, passionate, dedicated and committed are just some of the words we can use to describe the man from Donegal who now sits at the top of the World. 

He is a 1986 Commonwealth Games medalist and has amassed hundreds of medals and trophies in different cycling disciplines throughout his career. In 2009 he entered his first endurance race the Race Around Ireland. From that moment Joe Barr became Team Joe Barr. He hasn’t looked back since. 2017 was a milestone season with the team winning two World Cup 500 mile races in Italy and the United States resulting in Joe being crowned 2017 World Endurance Champion, overall, 500-mile category, a first for Ireland.

In 2018 Joe returned to and won Race Around Ireland covering 2,200 kilometres in 104 hours and 3 mins, with just 3.5 hours sleep. He beat some of the world’s toughest competitors in what is considered one of the most intense races on the world circuit. 

In 2019 Joe won his age category in Race Across America the nonstop 3,070-mile race from the west coast of America to the east coast.  It is considered the toughest race in endurance. Joe is the only Irish rider to have finished RAAM twice.  

He entered a local triathlon as a break from competitive swim training and won the race igniting an interest in the sport that would see him travel the world toeing the start line of numerous races, mixing it up with some of the best-known names in the sport of triathlon.  

Russell has been training and racing all over the globe in pursuit of an Olympic dream. With multiple podiums and top finishes in races across the world, significant results include the joint highest WTS finish by an Irish male when he finished 10th in Leeds in 2016, he achieved the highest WTS Grand Final finish by an Irish male when he finished in 15th place at Rotterdam Grand Final in 2017 and then went on to claim the silver medal at the Karlovy Vary World Cup in 2018.   The two time Commonwealth Games athlete gives us an insight into his life on the road pursuing his passion for his chosen sport in this episode.  

Injuring his collarbone whilst in the USA just before Covid19 restrictions came into effect in Ireland, the injury was undoubtedly a setback to his training, but if it was to happen, it happened at the best time as the world almost stopped turning and he could focus on recovery and rest for body and mind without the pressure of chasing precious Olympic qualification points.  

Spending time at home in Ireland over the past few months was not something he expected to happen when setting out his plans for this year, but he has embraced the return home, his recovery and his return to training on the local roads at home in Banbridge. 

The promising young professional footballer had his dreams of a life in sport drastically cut short at the age of 16 due to family circumstances. He left his life in Scotland to return home to Dublin to support his brothers and sisters when his father was sent to prison. 

Deciding to turn his life around shortly after his release from prison, the passion he had as a child for sport was reignited when he supported a friend taking part in an IRONMAN.  That coupled with the tragic death of another friend was pivotal to his decision to change the course of not only his own life but that of his five children.  In less than two years of making the decision to leave a life of crime behind,  Ger had achieved his lofty goal of becoming a professional triathlete with a sub 9:30 IRONMAN finish and has raced multiple IRONMAN events including Maastricht, Lanzarote, Wales, Cork and Barcelona. 

Ger’s story is one that will have you on the edge of your seat as he brings us through his life and how he will stop at nothing to achieve his goals sporting or otherwise. He does not, by his own admission ‘Do Excuses’ believing that no matter where you come from or your circumstances, through hard work and consistency you can achieve anything you set your mind to.

Imogen has always had an interest in sport excelling in triathlon and running before her love of cycling took hold. Now, chasing, breaking and leading the pack in road racing has become more than a personal passion it has become a professional goal. 

She was part of the Cycling Ireland National Track programme for 18 months, moving to Mallorca for a period to train with the team and try her hand at team pursuit. However, in 2018 she decided to switch to road cycling moving to Belgium to pursue her passion for sport and master her craft. 

We get an insight into her life during COVID at home in Co. Clare, some tips on taking the fear out of bike racing in a bunch and why she simply loves to train and loves the thrill of bike racing. With plenty more miles and races ahead she is one to watch for the future. 

Due to Covid19, she hasn’t had the start to her professional career that she was expecting back in late 2019 but none the less the talented champion athlete is as motivated and committed as ever to getting fitter, faster and stronger. 

Her journey and success in triathlon has been matched by her success in her career with Lloyds, both of them going hand in hand with many hours of consistent work and dedication. Ruth has excelled as an endurance athlete, with 2019 being one of her biggest years in the sport and also a roller coaster of a year with injury lows, racing highs and big life changes and decisions. None the less Ruth encapsulates the epitome of working hard to chase big goals.  Committed, dedicated and passionate about her sport there is no stopping Ruth Astle and I think we can undoubtedly expect to see her breaking the tape and topping the podium of races as a professional athlete for many years to come. 

Gavan has adventured across all seven continents, climbing, running, walking rowing and mountaineering in some of the worlds’ toughest conditions. He has completed some of the longest and toughest winter ultras in the world including the Likeys 6633 Arctic Ultra, he also completed The Yukon Arctic Ultra 500km where he placed 2nd with the 3rd fastest time recorded at the time since it’s inception in 2003.  He has also completed a solo crossing of the 700km frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia.  He then went on to become the fastest solo competitor in the history of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge completing the three thousand mile journey in 49 days, 11 hours and 37 minutes. He recently returned home as the winner of the  Iditarod Invitational 500k foot race in Alaska and is now back at work as a commercial deep sea diver.  

With a strong sense of purpose and a passion for adventure that has seen him travel the world his story is one that should help to lift you up, motivate you and encourage you to believe that you can be anything and achieve anything you want in life. 

She backed up her top 3 finish in Kona last year with a win at IM Arizona just five weeks after her epic battle on the island of Kona Hawaii.  She has also been crowned champion across a multitude of events including Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz in 2019 and 2018, South American Ironman Champion 2018,  ITU World Long Course Champion 2017, Asia Pacific and European Ironman Champion 2017. The list of success in sport is seriously impressive and a testament to her calibre as an athlete and leader in the sport of triathlon. 

In this episode we find out how working with her coach Cam, reconstructing her swim and keeping her support team tight have played a pivotal role in her sporting success at IRONMAN, added to her dedication, tenacity and commitment to her craft as well as her joy of triathlon has seen her on a sporting journey that many of us will only ever dream of!  

From a young age Bryan showed great form as an athlete, from early years in school to his days as a professional footballer, before moving across to endurance sports. He has inspired many athletes young and old with his tenacity, dedication and consistency in training and racing. His honest accounts of his successes as well as his failures have captivated his followers and supporters in sport and beyond at home and abroad.  

Playing football with Leeds United, Dundalk and Newry City to name a few he moved into cycling after some time and effort spent running the roads around Dundalk. As a cyclist, he clocked up some great results at the Des Hanlon Memorial, Ras Mumhan, the Tour of Ulster and in 2016 was second in stage two of the Ras which was an incredible achievement and testament to his work rate and consistency as and athlete. In the same year he also raced at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona. 

Switching in and out of the professional ranks of triathlon in recent years, supporting his family business, his wife Karen and children Rían and Eire he is now racing as a professional triathlete and brings us in this episode through some key insights to his success, the highs and lows of racing and how he aspires to be the best athlete that he can possibly be.