
Northwest's only Olympic-distance triathlon being staged in picturesque Hazelwood
The hugely popular event, begins at 11am in one of the Northwest's most breath-taking natural settings. Set against the backdrop of Lough Gill and Hazelwood forest, this event will once again showcase why Hazelwood ranks among Ireland's most spectacular triathlon venues.
Following the huge success of last year's event, which saw Corey Fines of Belfast claim the overall male title in an impressive finish time of 2:02:56 and Orla McGandy of Olympian TC, Belfast take the female crown with a strong finish of 2:33:27, Sligo Triathlon Club is once again inviting participants from across the country to take on the challenge of the northwest's only Olympic distance triathlon in 2025.
This year's race will feature the classic 1.5km swim in the calm waters of Half-moon Bay, a 40km scenic cycle route along the shores of Lough Gill to Dromahair and back and finish with a 10km run through the leafy Hazelwood trails.
'Whether you are chasing a new personal best or simply eager to experience triathlon in one of Ireland's most picturesque locations, the Hazelwood Olympic Triathlon is the perfect stage,' explains race director Paul O'Hare.
'The event welcomes individual participants and relay teams alike. Many of our previous participants return year after year, drawn by both the challenge and the warm hospitality of the Sligo Triathlon community.'
All participants will each receive a Goody bag, technical T-shirt and finisher's medal with post-race catering available on the day. Spectators are also encouraged to come out in force, soak up the atmosphere and support the participants as they take on the challenge, it's a day not to be missed.
For those travelling from outside the area, the Riverside Hotel Sligo is offering participants a special 15% discount for accommodation on the 12th and 13th of July, visit riversidesligo.ie and use promo code SLTRI25 when booking.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

The 42
3 hours ago
- The 42
Los Angeles Grand Slam Track meeting cancelled
THE LOS ANGELES leg of Michael Johnson's inaugural Grand Slam Track athletics series has been cancelled, officials confirmed Thursday. The fourth and final stop on the new circuit had been due to take place at Los Angeles' Drake Stadium from 28-29 June. However sources with knowledge of the situation told AFP Thursday that the meeting had now been scrapped due to 'poor economics'. An official announcement later Thursday confirmed the decision. 'The decision to conclude the inaugural Grand Slam Track season is not taken lightly, but one rooted in a belief that we have successfully achieved the objectives we set out to in this pilot season,' Johnson said in a statement. 'The global economic landscape has shifted dramatically in the past year, and this business decision has been made to ensure our long-term stability as the world's premier track league. Our attention is now on 2026…' Advertisement Reports in the United States and Britain said the cancellation was made due to the failure to secure adequate sponsorship and broadcast revenue for the league, which was launched in Kingston, Jamaica in April. Ticket sales for the Los Angeles event had also been sluggish, reports said, with Britain's The Times saying the decision to cancel would save organizers around $3 million [€2.6m] in prize money and travel expenses. The cancellation is a stinging blow to Johnson's hopes of revolutionising athletics through the circuit, which was launched as part of an attempt to reinvigorate interest in the sport after years of decline. Johnson's stated goal of Grand Slam Track was to produce a more concentrated format which promised more head-to-head races between the world's best athletes. However while the series was able to recruit stars such as US Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas and 400m hurdles icon Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, it failed to recruit a slew of top sprinting talent including the reigning men's and women's 100m champions Noah Lyles and Julien Alfred. Andrew Coscoran and Sharlene Mawdsley were among the Irish athletes to compete in recent weeks. The series offered athletes prize money of up to $100,000 [€86,650] for their overall standings after participating in two races at each meet. However, while athletes expressed enthusiasm for the series, there were clear signs it had failed to capture the imagination of fans. Swathes of empty seats were seen at the opening meeting in Kingston, while for the third meeting in Philadelphia, the programme was cut from three days to two days. US Olympic 400m hurdles champion Rai Benjamin had been among the athletes expressing scepticism over Grand Slam Track's chances of success. 'I look at it as a business,' Benjamin said before the opening meeting in April. 'At the end of the day, if there's no ROI (return on investment), then you have a failed business model. And it's like, how long could you be sustainable? 'They're not going to make any money this year, they're not going to make any money next year.' Johnson however brushed off those concerns, adamant that the series would generate interest once launched. 'I've started several successful businesses in my life and not a single one was profitable in year one,' Johnson said. 'That's not how you build businesses.' – © AFP 2025


RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Grand Slam Track cancels LA meet to bring abrupt end to debut season
Grand Slam Track cancelled its Los Angeles meet on Thursday as the organisers brought the debut season of the novel athletics circuit to an abrupt end after three events. The Michael Johnson-fronted track series lured in top talent with super-sized prize money but saw poor attendance at its kick-off meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, and later cut its third meet in Philadelphia from three to two days. "The decision to conclude the inaugural Grand Slam Track season is not taken lightly, but one rooted in a belief that we have successfully achieved the objectives we set out to in this pilot season," Johnson said in a statement. "As we've said all along, we were going to have learnings, make adjustments, and continue to improve. Sometimes we have to make moves that aren't comfortable, but what's most important is the future and sustainability of the league. "The global economic landscape has shifted dramatically in the past year, and this business decision has been made to ensure our long-term stability ..." The economics of the deal with Drake Stadium in Los Angeles was the motivating factor in cancelling what was intended to be the final meet of the year, Grand Slam Track sources told Reuters. Organisers have offered full refunds to any fans who had bought tickets to the 28-29 June Los Angeles meeting and Johnson said the series would return in 2026. "Our attention is now on 2026, with our eyes set on continuing to deliver the best-in-class storytelling, content, and competition," the four-times Olympic champion added. "We are committed to calling Los Angeles home, and look forward to hosting a Slam in LA as part of the 2026 season." Grand Slam was announced ahead of the 2024 Paris Games amid mounting concerns over athlete pay, as World Athletics for the first time paid $50,000 (€43,350) to gold medal winners in a controversial move that bucked 128 years of Olympic tradition. With a whopping $12.6 million (€10.9m) in total prize money across what was set to be four meets, Johnson's start-up caught the attention of track's established circuits, as the long-time standard-bearer Diamond League added more to its prize pot. Last month, Irish athlete Andrew Coscoran earned a $50k payday at the Miami Grand Slam Track meet after securing second place overall in the long distance events. Sprinters Kenny Bednarek and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden were awarded the Grand Slam Track Racers of the Year, the statement added. Jefferson-Wooden, who like Bednarek was undefeated over the three meets, said she had no regrets about taking part. "Change is not always easy or accepted, and I'm happy that Michael Johnson found a way to take a leap of faith and build something for the future of our sport," she said.

The 42
7 hours ago
- The 42
Ireland well beaten by Olympic gold medallists Netherlands
IRELAND SUFFERED a comprehensive 6-2 defeat by the Netherlands in Thursday evening's second encounter of the FIH Pro League double-header in Amstelveen. Mark Tumilty's side had lost 2-0 to the same opposition on Wednesday night. And the Olympic gold medallists and world number one side again proved too strong for the visitors. Advertisement A brace from Lisnagarvey's Ben Nelson was a positive for Ireland to take from the contest But goals from Jip Janssen and Terrence Pieters had the hosts 2-0 ahead by half-time after a goalless opening quarter. Janssen then added a third via a penalty stroke before Pepijn van der Heijden scored a fourth from a controversially awarded corner. Nelson got one back for Ireland in the final quarter before Joep Troost restored their opponents' four-goal advantage. Nelson then got his second of the match before the Dutch added a last-gasp sixth amid a hectic finish. 'It's hard to be positive after a 6-2 defeat, but we didn't deserve to lose by that margin,' coach Tumilty said afterwards. 'We created better opportunities in the first half and yet found ourselves 2-0 down at half-time. 'I thought we should have been awarded a stroke in the first half, but ended up losing our video referral. The stroke they were awarded should not have been; Luke Roleston was behind Lee Cole on the goal line. I thought those decisions were shocking. I expect decisions to be correct.' Ireland will next travel to Antwerp, where they will begin their final stage of the FIH Pro League with a match against Belgium on 14 June, which starts at 2.30pm Irish time.