Triathlon: Ryan excels in Canada

Jul 30 2008 by Peter Morse, Crewe Chronicle

TEENAGER Ryan Morris has come through the toughest race of his career with flying colours. Ryan, from Crewe, finished 14th in 1hr 14m 33secs, for Great Britain in the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championships in Vancouver, Canada. The 17-year-old was up against it, racing in the U18s category against some of the best in the world. And despite a gruelling race in which he needed medical treatment for his legs, “I couldn’t walk for three days,” he said, he was more than happy with the test. He said: “Canada has really given me the drive to keep going. Racing with the best triathletes in the world motivates you so much to achieve a better result each time.” Triathlon is an exciting multi-discipline sport. It involves a continuous race over various distances in the three disciplines of swimming, cycling and running.

Ryan says the nerves got to him as the crowds and TV cameras greeted him at the starting line but he battled through the initial swim.

He continued: “After the swim I was 10th out of the sea with Sam Glover, my rival, coming out seventh. I then struggled to get my wet suit off due to the cold.

“The bike course was fantastic and I felt good and later found out I was on the way to smashing my personal best during the run.

“However, the second lap came along and my legs really started to suffer. The lousy weather conditions had caused my whole legs from the waist down to become numb.

“I just kept pushing, I was literally running on sheer determination from working so hard and coming so far. I crossed the line and was closer than I had ever been before. I finished 1min 11secs behind Sam as opposed to 3mins previously.”

There was a second celebration for Ryan, who needed to raise up to £2,000 for a new bike because his old one did not meet the required standard for the event.

He said: “The money raised towards my bike was £1,580 which really did help me towards this amazing achievement and I would like to say thank you to everybody that contributed.”

Ryan would also like to thank his swim coach Dave Bradbury who he believes he owes his progress to, dad Ian, Tina, mum Tracy, friends, family and Crewe and Nantwich Physiotherapy Clinic for helping to keep him injury-free.