Russell secures 15th place finish in U23 European Championships

Banbridge lad Russell White exits the water on route to finishing 15th during the U23 European Triathlon Championships in Banyoles, Spain.

The former Banbridge Academy pupil was the leading Irishman in the race in Banyoles, Spain, as his rise to prominence in the sport continues.

He posted a time of 1:47:11, coming in less than two minutes behind the race winner.

White, now an experienced competitor at international level having represented Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games and Ireland in a number of rounds of the World Triathlon Series, got his race off to a strong start in the 1500 metre swim.

He clocked 18:44 for the distance which brought him out of the water in sixth place and well positioned in the leading pack for the 40 kilometre cycle.

White was then moving well on the run as he went under 33 minutes for the 10 kilometres to clock 32:41 and a finish time of 1:47:11 for 15th place.

After finishing the race, Russell said: “15th tonight at the European U23s, not the result I wanted but a solid performance, still a lot to work on my run.”

Russell was racing alongside Ireland team-mate and Cork native, Chris Mintern, who finished further behind in 43rd with a time of 1:53:18.

The race was won by David Castro Fajardo of Spain in a time of 1:45:26 with Marc Austin of Great Britain in second and Delian Stateff of Italy in third.