Donegal athlete, Marie Ní Bhaoill, has the won the National Adventure Race Series, following her win last weekend at the Achill Roar race. Marie, based in An Spidéal in county Galway but originally from Gaoth Dobhair, competes for Conamara-based triathlon club, TríSpórt, and has such a commanding lead in the series that she has the overall victory wrapped up with two races still to go.
Marie re-entered competitive sport this year for the first time in 13 years, following the setting up of TríSpórt, and since then, she has won races all over Ireland, and has proved conclusively to the be strongest female cyclist in the west of Ireland. Six members of TríSpórt participated in Achill Roar, amongst them Marie’s husband, Pádraig Ó Diorráin, who finished sixth and who is now fourth in the overall adventure race series.
TríSpórt, which now has 56 members, has had an incredibly successful year since the club’s formation in February. Among the members are three of Ireland’s finest female athletes; Joyce Wolfe, who this year set a new Irish Ironman record and won a European Duathlon Championship gold medal; Derval Devaney who finished third in her age group at the recent Ironman Ireland 70.3 race in Galway; and Marie Ní Bhaoill.
“We’re delighted with such progress over such a short period of time,” said club co-founder, Rónán Mac Con Iomaire. “Last weekend alone, we had a victory in Achill, a second place finish at the Clogherhead triathlon, a third place finish at the Clifden 10k, and a total of 21 athletes racing in different events.”
“We are extremely grateful to our main sponsors, TG4, who have given us the opportunity to develop the club, along with other sponsors such as Cogaslann Agatha, Velotec and Údarás na Gaeltachta.”
