Hundreds slog it out at Crystal Palace triathlon last Sunday

HUNDREDS of competitors slogged it out in the heat last Sunday at the Crystal Palace Triathlon.

More than 500 adults and 150 children took part in the event at the Crystal Palace Park and National Sports Centre, with evidence that the standard of competition simply keeps on rising.

The adult race started at 9am and was won by Neil Harris from 7Oaks Tri Club while the women's race was won by Grainne O'Donnell from Serpentine.

For much more pictures from the event, pick up a copy of this week's Croydon Advertiser to see our picture special.

The winning Veterans (age 40+) were Jon Horsman from Crystal Palace Triathletes and Claire Hitchings from 7Oaks Tri Club. The winning SuperVets (50+) were Ian Birch from Hillingdon Triathletes and Karen Grieves. Links to the full results can be found on the Crystal Palace Triathletes website.

The junior races followed in the afternoon in the youth (age 15-16), TriStar Three (13-14), TriStar Two (11-12), TriStar (nine-10) and TriStart (eight) categories.

The winners were: Youth – Rory Atkins (Optima Racing Team) and Bethaney Hall (RG Active/triandrun); TriStar Three – Lewis Hawkins (Jetstream Tri Club) and Greta Sharp (Crystal Palace); TriStar Two – Alex Yee (Crystal Palace) and Orla Fawcett (Amersham TriStars); TriStar One – Sindead Clark (East Essex Tri) and Dominic King.

Crystal Palace Triathletes chairman John Petrides said: "Our race gets bigger and better every year. All the competitors seemed to enjoy the experience, commenting on what a friendly and supportive club we are, and all want to come back to this sell-out event next year."

"We saw some really competitive racing, not just from the adults but also from the various junior age groups, right down to the TriStarts doing their first ever race."

Prizes were donated by triandrun, with spot prizes from Foska, Zone3 wetsuits, TriSport Coaching, TriTowel, Pool-Mate, Cherry Active and SwimShop.

Details of the 2011 race will be announced later this year on the Crystal Palace Triathletes website. E-mail crystalpalace_tri@btinternet.com to join the race mailing list.