Irish international cyclist and former national junior road race champion, Maeve Gallagher, has been in action for Ireland this weekend in triathlon at the Europeans in Austria.
The 19-year-old from Co Mayo was selected onto the national team for the Europe Triathlon Sprint and Relay Championships in Kitzbühel, taking 22nd in the U23 title race and also competing very strongly against the elites.
Gallagher was among a five-athlete Irish team, which also included fellow U23 triathlete Erin McConnell and elite Chloe Pollard. In the men's event, Ian Manthey was selected for Ireland and Sabian Kulczynski was the sole Irish representative in the junior event.
The title races were run over the 'super sprint' distance, which involves 500 metre swim, 12km bike and 3km run. The elite and U23 women were in a combined field, with three heats taking place yesterday featuring 30 triathletes per heat.
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Those three heats were effectively qualifying for today's 'semi final A' and 'semi final B'. Gallagher and McConnell both finished 15th in their separate heats and qualified for the 'B final' today, along with compatriot Pollard.
That 15th place in her semi final for Gallagher yesterday meant she was 42nd in Europe of the full elite and U23 combined field across the three semi finals.
Gallagher, who races in the Irish peloton for Castlebar CC, then went on to place 12th in the 'B final' today, Saturday. Her compatriot and fellow U23 McConnell was also in the 'B final' and placed 20th, while Irish elite athlete Pollard was 24th in the same race today.
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When the U23 results were stripped out of the 'A' and 'B' finals today, Gallagher was 22nd in a time of 37:38 and compatriot McConnell was 29th in 38:18.
The U23 title was claimed by Russian Valentina Riasova in 35:26, with Britain’s Olivia Mathias taking silver, in a time of 35:43, and Germany’s Lisa Tertsch claiming bronze in 35:44.
Ireland's Kulczynski was 27th in the junior men's B final today while compatriot Mathey was 7th in the elite men's B final, also today.
That 22nd place in the U23 Europeans was a strong showing for teenager Gallagher, in what was her first European title race at U23 level. Over the two days in Austria the Mayo teenager was also best of the Irish U23 and elite women selected for the championships.
Gallagher also competed for Ireland in the World Triathlon Cup Arzachena, in Italy, last month where she was 45th. A week earlier she contested the World Triathlon Cup Lisbon, in Portugal, where she was 40th.
Gallagher won the Irish junior road race crown two years ago and rode for Ireland at the World Road Championships in both of her junior seasons - in Innsbruck and Yorkshire.
In the Worlds two years ago, in Yorkshire, both Gallagher and Lara Gillespie were in the small front group fighting for the medals when they were taken down in a crash in the final kilometre.
Just 18 months ago, three months before the pandemic hit Ireland, Gallagher took her first big win on the elite international triathlon circuit, at the ATU Sprint Triathlon Cup in Dakar, Senegal.
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