European triathlon bronze for Andree

A Killaloe-based marketing executive is on cloud nine after scooping a bronze medal in the 30-34 Female European Triathlon Championships in Northern Spain recently.
Andree Walkin, who works as a marketing executive in the University of Limerick Activity Centre in Ballycuggeran, is now the third best female tri athlete in Europe in this particular age group.
Despite stiff competition from team Great Britain, who won four of the top five places in this category, Andree got to hoist the Irish flag in third spot on the podium.
“I was hoping to finish in the top five and to win a bronze medal was a dream come true for me. It made all the hard work worthwhile. There was about 22 athletes in my particular age group and to make the winning podium was the icing on the cake.”
Andree, who was representing Limerick Triathlon Club, was in fifth place after the 1,500m swim, in a time of 28.57 and moved up to fourth place after completing the 40km bike trial in one hour and 13 minutes.
The turning point came six kilometres into the 10k run when she saw a British athlete in her sights.
She decided to step up a gear in the sorching heat of over 28 degrees and passed out her rival before coasting home in third place. Her success ensures she automatically qualifies for the European Triathlon Championships in Israel next year.
Now in her fourth season of triathlon competition, she was initially involved in adventure sports such as sailing, wind-surfing and caneoing before she was bitten by the triathlon bug.
There were times during the winter training in rain, sleet and snow when she wondered if the sacrifices were worth it but support from her husband Mike Jones, who was part of a team that rowed 5,000 kilometres across the Atlantic and her personal coach, Stephan Teeling Lynch helped her to stay focused.
Her strict training regime involves adhering to a diet under the direction of Andrea Cullen and she works out twice a day, six days a week.
Age group athletes from Britain receive more funding for their training compared with their Irish counterparts, which makes her achievement all the more noteworthy.
Out of a field of almost 70 Irish competitors, Mark Horan from Pulse Triathlon Club won gold in the 30 to 34 age group, while  Mark Nolan from Cork Tri Club also took bronze in this category.