Bryan McCrystal set a new Irish record for the Ironman distance at the Barcelona triathlon last month. The Dundalk cyclist clocked a time of 8 hours 41 minutes for the 3.8 kilometre swim, 180 kilometre bike ride and 42.2 kilometre run. He has been nominated by Triathlon Ireland for the award of 'Athlete of the Year'.
By Brian Canty
One of the country’s best domestic riders, Bryan McCrystal, has been nominated for a prestigious award by Triathlon Ireland.
The Dundalk man is up for the ‘Athlete of the Year’ alongside 2012 Olympian Aileen Reid as well as other top triathletes Brian Keane as well as Carolyn Hayes and Susanna Murphy.
Keane will also be well known to Irish cycling fans as he rode internationally before focussing in triathlon.
The nomination is a remarkable achievement for McCrystal.
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He has only done five triathlons this year, but having set an Irish record for the Ironman distance at the Barcelona Ironman last month he made the shortlist.
Related: Bryan McCrystal smashes Irish IronMan record in Barcelona
Though he has represented Ireland in triathlon in the past, he only started running and swimming in mid-June this year to prepare specifically for the event.
He was racing on the road right throughout the year and won a host of the country’s biggest events.
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Arguably, his best win was the third stage of the Kerry Group Rás Mumhan while others included the Wallace Caldwell Memorial, the Eddie Tobin Memorial and the Davis Cup.
Those latter three wins helped see him secure top spot in the re-launched National Road Series.
He'll need a strong vote from the cycling community to win the award on November 6th as his fellow nominees have all had superb years.
Reid is currently 7th in the ITU World Rankings while Keane is 13th in the World Series.
Carolyn Hayes won three national titles while Murphy had a stunning year, winning the inaugural Super Series race.
You can vote by following this link for the Athlete of the Year, Junior Athlete of the Year, Coach of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Entries close at 9am on November 6th. Get moving and let's get our man over the line!
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