Stimpson sets course record at Windsor Triathlon

Jodie Stimpson broke the course record as she completed the Windsor Triathlon in the fastest time in the event's 19 year history.

Stuart Hayes took victory in the men's event of a triathlon which saw over 2,500 athletes competing on Sunday.

Stimpson took her second successive win in two weeks and in doing so retains top spot in the British Super Series ranking.

She led from start to finish in a supreme performance, leaving the rest of the field in her wake to finish in 2:03.2, breaking the course record by 33 seconds, previously held by Helen Tucker.

The rest of the women’s race however did not follow the pre-race  predictions and it was Jill Parker who had the race of her life, taking second in 2:11.07 with newcomer Non Stanford chasing hard only five seconds behind.

"I am delighted with my performance today, it was a beautiful course out there and a great race - I loved it," said Stimpson. "I've been training very hard and it worked out really well for me today."

As anticipated, Hayes, who was firm favourite going into the men’s race, took the honours in great style but not without pressure from Adam Bowden and Bryan Keane.

Hayes led from the start following a stunning swim time of 14:02 and, together with Mike Adams and Ollie Freeman (who was later forced to drop out), headed off with a 45 second lead. However, the chasing pack, led by former pro cyclist Bryan Keane, soon made up the gap leaving it all to play for on the run.

Hayes pulled away on the run with current steeplechase national champion Bowden close behind on his heels and Keane chasing hard in third. Bowden closed the gap but could not quite do enough and Hayes took the victory in 1:47.14 with Bowden only 13 seconds behind and Keane crossing the line in third in 1:48.19.

"I was pushed much harder than I expected," commented Hayes. "The weather was hot, but it was the competition that pushed me to my limits today.

"We all worked together hard on the bike but it’s the run that matters and both Bowden and Keane are International runners so I had to pull out all the stops."

Amongst the sell out field of age group competitors was double Olympian James Cracknell, who completed the Olympic distance (1,500m swim/42k bike/10k run) as part of his training for the European Triathlon Championships in Holland next month. He finished in an impressive third place and 17th overall in a time of 2:10:27.

Former rower Cracknell, who earlier this year raced to the South Pole, said: “I was thrilled with my time. I’ve always wanted to do Windsor - it was a great bike and run course and I pushed really hard to make up for my weaker swim. It was tough but I really enjoyed it."