Super League Preview

@superleaguetriathlon has been very good to Irish athletes since they started in 2017 with the first team of Junior and Youth athletes competing in Jersey and with regular invitations to compete around the world since. This weekend Luke McCarron competes in the mens elite race, carrying World Triathlon points, while both Chloe and Judith Maccoombe take part in the usPara race along with Oliver Gunning. Have not seen a start list for the Para event yet so not sure who they will be against but another great learning opportunity especially with the added stresses of strange environment, TV gear, lights, crowd etc providing added pressure.

Luke goes in Heat 1 alongside 5 Top 10 finishers from the previous 2 rounds. Heats consist of 2 rounds of swim bike run over 200m, 4km and 1km. The format for the indoor races requires the usual skills, transitions make up a much larger percentage of overall race time, but also efficient tumble turns in swim, not everyone is Lionel Sanders on the bike, and to be happy at over 20kph on a treadmill.

Coming off a 7th in his last race in Hong Kong this short distance racing gives Luke a chance not only to race with and learn from some of the best athletes around but also to show he could be a potential member of any Mixed Relay team if Ireland gain an entry to any this year. While he has appeared quite comfortable in bunches, and has ran quite well, in the 14s over 5km, his swim is still progressing so it will be interesting to see what his outright speed is like in a lane swim over 200m.