A Great Podium finish for Aileen in Hamburg
Aileen Morrison has claimed third place in a sprint finish in the ITU Dextro Energy World Championship Series in Hamburg, Germany. Morrison was just two seconds behind Sweden's Lisa Nordern (1st) and Australia's Emma Moffatt (2nd) who is the current ITU Dextro World Cup Champion.
"I feel like I'm in a dream right now-I seriously do. I don't know what just happened. That is by far the best finish of my career. To be in a sprint with Emma and Lisa was unbelievable. I couldn't be happier right now", an ecstatic Morrison said.
This result is yet another great step for Morrison, who's fifth place at the European Championships in Athlone two weeks ago was until today the best result ever achieved by an Irish triathlete.
Aileen has been a regular on Maryland training runs when not on duty representing Ireland on the world stage of Triathlon. Over the past couple of years it has been evident that her speed and endurance on the bike has been going from strenght to strength. Hopefully things will not stop here for Aileen her confidence is manifesting and with continued development and improvement, topping the podium will remain a reality.
This achievement is another coup for the continued development of the sport, the National Federation and the continued commitment and dedication of Chris Jones and his team of athletes, and the many support staff and volunteers who all contribute to the High Performance Program.
Aileen Morrison is only a relative newcomer to the sport, who was discovered a few years ago within the age group racing scene in Ireland. The Derry girl has been working very closely, under coach Chris Jones, with the performance staff at the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland, who's commitment to her performance has played a large role in this achievement.
Also racing in Hamburg this weekend were other Triathlon Ireland High performance athletes Bryan Keane, Emma Davis and Kerry Spearing. Davis produced an admirable performance to finish 29th in a field of world class athletes. Unfortunately both Keane and Spearing were involved in crashes in their respective races that rendered them unable to finish.
RESULTS: 1. Lisa Norden (SWE) 1:53:53
2. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 1:53:53 +0
3. Aileen Morrison (IRL) 1:53:55 +2
4. Kate Roberts (RSA) 1:53:57 +4
5. Vicky Holland (GBR) 1:53:57 +4
6. Andrea Hewitt (NZL) 1:53:59 +6
7. Laura Bennett (USA) 1:54:04 +11
8. Sarah Groff (USA) 1:54:36 +43
9. Ainhoa Murua (ESP) 1:54:40 +47
10. Felicity Abram (AUS) 1:5458 +1:05