Matt and Sam on a plane to Kona

In the month of July both Matt Molloy and Sam Baxter punched their tickets to Kona in October.

First up was Matt in Frankfurt and having had a good preparation phase he was hoping to dip under the magic sub 9 barrier. A great swim but a slower than expected swim and run brought Matt home in around the 9.30 mark for a slightly disappointing finish but 14th position in his age group and qualification for the Ironman World Championships in Kona. Job done.

Sam was next in Switzerland and, like Matt, had the elusive sub 9 on his radar on a course that was traditionally fairly fast.

A very hot day together with slow swimming conditions put paid to that goal but Sam had an outstanding race, winning his age group by over 11 minutes and finishing thirteenth overall in 9.18.52.

Congratulations to both Sam and Matt for joining Catherine and Dec on the Hawaii start line in October.