Heary and Nolan perform well in world duathlon

Carlow athletes competed for Ireland over the weekend in the World Duathlon Championships which were held in Rimini in northern Italy. Keith Heary and Louise Nolan from the Carlow Tri Club had been selected, due to their impressive early season form in the National Duathlon League. The event was made up of a 11.2km run followed by a 42km cycle and finished off with a 5km run. Over 1,000 athletes were in Rimini for the two days of racing. Louise was up first on Saturday evening and was competing against 226 other female athletes. Weather conditions were tough with blustery winds and very cold conditions. The Nolan family travelled over from Ireland to watch her compete and their support inspired her to a great performance. Louise competed the course in 2 hours 29 minutes and reached 86th place overall. She finished 10th place overall in her 25-29 age group and was delighted with her result. The following day was Keith’s turn and the weather conditions had made a dramatic improvement with plenty of sunshine. Keith was competing in the senior men’s race against 250 other athletes from all around the world. After starting off badly, Keith moved from 80th place after the first half of the 11.2km run to 49th by the time he got on the bike. He held his position throughout after a very fast cycle and crossed the line in 47th place and 24th place in his age group from 100 athletes. Keith’s time of 2 hours 7 minutes was the 86th fastest of the 1,000 male and female competitors over the weekend of racing.