In an unseasonably cold weekend in September, two Taunton School pupils, Evie H in Year 12 and JJ W in Year 8, travelled to Mallory Park in Leicestershire for the British Triathlon Super Series Grand Final. For Evie this meant the final race of the season for the South West Team and for JJ the Inter-Regional Championships, where the top young British triathletes battled it out in the Tri-Star 2 and Tri-Star 3 categories.

All competitors faced an open water swim, with the water temperature in the lake at a chilly 15 degrees, alongside bike and run elements around the famous Mallory Park race circuit. With heats and finals on the same day there was little time for recovery in between races!

In her first competitive event since joining Taunton School, Evie performed with grit and determination, putting together a strong race over the three disciplines, with a particularly impressive bike leg. 

JJ’s first opportunity to compete at this level did not disappoint. In the individual event he fought hard to earn a silver medal, with the top three competitors finishing just six seconds apart, placing him second in Great Britain in the Tri-Star 2 category. In the Mixed Team Relay, JJ and his South West teammates took a convincing gold medal, finishing almost fifty seconds ahead of their closest rivals, the South East team. To top off a highly successful weekend, the South West Team finished third overall out of the 13 regions of Great Britain.

As triathlon gains popularity at Taunton School, further budding young triathletes are emerging, inspired by Olympic heroes Alex Yee and Georgia Taylor-Brown. This endurance, multi-discipline sport, consisting of swimming, cycling and running, sees over 20 pupils from all parts of the school training together every Thursday afternoon under the watchful eyes of Mr Wells, Miss Collier and Triathlon scholar Evie. Bring on next season!