Rutland Waters was the venue for the 2011 Dambuster Triathlon. First established in 2002 the Dambuster Triathlon is a well recognised feature of the triathlon calendar in the UK. Now in 2011 the Dambuster has been selected by the British Triathlon Federation as the National Age group Championships which also acts as a World Championships qualifier for Beijing 2011.
Despite the very early start for many, 11 Team Cherwell athletes still completed the 1500m lake swim, 42km bike and 10km run across the dam after which the race is named.
James McLaughlin was first back for Team Cherwell, finishing in 2hrs 25mins and 28th in his age group. There were also some strong performances from Andy MacDonald and John Shaw who both finished in quick succession, 02:37:06 and 02:37:37 respectively.
First back for the Team Cherwell ladies was Heidi Shaw, who finished the course in 02:45:03 and 24th in her age group. Competing in their first standard distance triathlon were Helen French and Sue Hirst, both of whom put in strong performances, with French finishing in 02:46:17 and Hirst in 02:57:22.
It was an unfortunate race for Kim Shaw but despite a puncture on the bike she still managed to finish 2nd in her age group, securing a silver medal and qualification to the World Triathlon Championships in Beijing.
