Action Man Dan In Top Triathlon Comp

The 2018 School Games National Finals, supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, is a major multi-sport event for the most talented young athletes across the UK. Between Thursday 30 August and Sunday 2 September, more than 1,400 young athletes competed across 11 sports, five of which include disability competition, at venues across LoughboroughUniversity Campus.

Their aim is to create a springboard for young athletes over various sports and this year, included five new disciplines: Canoeing, Netball, Laser Run, Rowing and Triathlon. Now in its 13th year, the School Games prides itself on providing a fun, competitive and safe environment for our future sports stars to experience a large, multisport event…..and one of those future sports stars was our very own Daniel Boyer, who was taking part in the various Triathlon events of the competition.

It was a tough few days of competition for Dan as there were just two athletes selected from each region, plus he’s still in his first year of his age group, and so competing against older athletes.

Day 1 – Aquathlon The Aquathlon is a combination of a swim, followed by a run. Dan had just missed out on qualifying for the ‘A’ final, but put in a tremendous performance in the ‘B’ final. He came from nowhere in the swim to be in 2nd place when they got out the pool, and maintained that through the transition into the run. About half way through the run Dan was still looking strong, and moved up to take the lead. He extended his lead to win by 10 seconds, leaving him 14th overall.

You can watch Dan in action on the following YouTube link. Just scroll forward to 2hrs 33mins into the recording for Dan’s event: Play video
Day 2 – Cycling The cycling races were draft legal, meaning cyclists are permitted to ride in packs and rotate through a line, taking turns riding up front, before peeling off and latching onto the back. When riding like this, tucking in close behind another rider expends less energy, with the reduction in wind resistance. Dan got into a group of 6 cyclists, in 14th to 19th place; he rode well but got out sprinted at the end. After that his overall position dropped to 18th.

Day 3 – Triathlon The third and final day was a complete triathlon; swim, cycle and run in the form of a mixed relay. Two boys and two girls made up the team of four athletes, each one doing all three disciplines. Dan was part of the North East team who, up against some tough competition from the rest of the country, finished in 9th place.
You can watch Dan’s triathlon on the following YouTube link. Just scroll forward to 1hr 33min to the start of the event. Dan ran the 4th leg which start around 2hrs 35min into the recording: Play video
A fantastic experience for Dan, and a terrific performance. Hope to see you there again next year!!

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