Agfa sponsored amateur athletes Naomi Wright and Lewis Eccleston enjoyed early season triathlon success in May. Competing at the highest level whilst also having a full-time career is a huge challenge and the ‘Weekend Warriors’ across all sports are treated with the highest respect. Agfa’s #BTheBestUCanB support allows the two athletes to focus on specific details of their training to make those marginal gains that are so important on race day.
For Naomi the event was the Outlaw Half Triathlon at Nottingham, UK. The distances were 1.4-mile swim, 56-mile bike and a 13.1-mile run.
In Naomi words, “The mind said YES but the body said NO. When you get those sensations, you know you’re in for a long day. I never really found my legs but thankfully the incredible support on the course and my love for the sport got me to the finish line.
It was a great day regardless of how much I suffered. That was by far my most mentally challenging race to date and I’m proud that I managed to claw a result of 3rd overall female in 4:46:01 (31:32, 2:34:16, 1:36:21). Well done to the storming Claire Weller for the win and Rebecca Rimmington for a close fought second. Thanks also to all the staff Outlaw Triathlon and the volunteers for another fantastic event. I will see you in again July when I return to do the full distance Outlaw event (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and a 26.2-mile run).”
Lewis travelled to Ironman Lanzarote to compete, as the event would be as closest match to race conditions for the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
In Lewis’ words, “Great race at Ironman Lanzarote. The toughest Ironman race in my opinion and I couldn’t be happier with the result. A PB in very rough swim conditions (56:55), a solid bike (5:37:10) and a marathon PB in hot and extremely windy conditions (3:02:04). Maybe sub 3 if I didn’t have a toilet and shoelace stop! Finish time of (9:45:23) – 2nd in my age group, and 21st overall (out of 1249 athletes who finished before the 17h hour cut-off).
All promising signs and another step up in performance in the lead up to the Ironman World Championship in October.”
#BTheBestUCanB – Is the hashtag that defines not only our sponsored athletes but also how Agfa HealthCare solutions are helping healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations deliver better care.
