Holmes uses his cycling strength to haul himself back into contention

Luke Holmes with the winning mixed relay team Picture: TRIATHLON SCOTLAND/KENNY GIRVAN PHOTOGRAPHY

IT WAS a winning end to the season for young triathlete Luke Holmes after three days of competition in the UK School Games National Final.

Held at Loughborough University last week, the event is a four-day multi-sport competition, supported by the Youth Sport Trust, for athletes across ten sports on both the Olympic and Paralympic pathways.

As a result of strong performances in the British Triathlon Youth Super Series, Holmes was selected to join a wildcard team to compete against teams from Scotland, Wales and ten English regions.

The first two days of competition saw athletes compete four times, with the final cycling circuit race deciding the overall individual winners.

The 15-year-old got off to a solid start in the qualifying aquathlon consisting of a 320m swim and 2.3km run. He crossed the line in third to take one of five automatic qualification spots for the final later in the day. Unfortunately he could not replicate that form in the final after finding himself badly placed for the first turn buoys in the swim and then dropping down the field in the run, leaving him a disappointed 15th after the first day.

Day two saw a return to form with the two cycling events of the competition, the first a short and fast skills test time trial on a tight and technical course. Holmes won to bring himself up to tenth going into the final event.

Unfortunately, a late change to the final cycling race saw the distance cut from 10km to just over 7km, reducing the opportunity for Holmes to make up further ground, but the fastest bike split for the second time that day was enough to raise his final finishing position to 6th in the individual event.

Day three for triathlon saw the mixed team relay competition in which a team of two male and two female athletes complete a triathlon before handing over to a team-mate.

Holmes was first to complete his leg for the wildcard team, finishing his 400m swim, 4km cycle and 1.5km run in just under 18 minutes and handing over to teammate Eloisa Symonds in third place.

A strong swim from Symonds moved the team into the lead with third leg athlete Jude Clayton holding onto that position until late in the run, handing over to anchor Annabelle Souter from the South East Triathlon Academy within striking distance of the leaders Yorkshire.

Souter powered into the lead and built a comfortable margin in the swim and cycle sections and was able to cruise to victory for the team over the final run.

‘I was a bit disappointed with the Aquathlon final on Thursday, but it’s not always your day,’ said Holmes.

‘I was pleased to be able to bring myself back up towards the front with strong cycling performances on Friday, but it would have been nice to have been in contention for the medals by that point.

‘It was quite a surprise to take the gold medal in the team relay on Saturday evening, but all four of us performed really strongly and it was a great end to my first School Games and also a great experience mixing with the other athletes in the event village for the four days.’

The event marked the end of the 2022 season for Holmes.

Other members of the Aztec Jersey Tristars travel to Eton this weekend for the final British Super Series event of the year.

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