Hamilton triathlete chosen to represent GB at European championships

Jun 16 2011 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

HAMILTON triathlete Grant Sheldon is one of a trio of young Scots chosen to represent Great Britain at the ETU European Triathlon Championships in Spain.

Grant (16), Marc Austin and Cameron Milne will form the three-man GE Great Britain team for the individual Junior event at Pontevedra on Friday, June 24.

The trio are team-mates in triathlonscotland’s national development squad and booked their place in the GB squad thanks to great performances in junior events at the GE Strathclyde Park Triathlon and Blenheim Triathlon in London last weekend.

Sheldon and Scotstoun teenager Austin took second and third, respectively, in a sprint finish at the Scottish event in the British Triathlon Junior Super Series.

Scottish Under-17 Cross-Country champion Sheldon will look forward to the sprint distance race, which involves a 750m river swim, 20km hilly cycle ride and 5km run.

Grant said: “I’m really pleased and it has come as a bit of a surprise as I went into the Strathclyde Park qualifying event just to gain experience in my first year racing as a junior.

“It’s great for Scotland to have an all-Scottish men’s team and it’s definitely the biggest achievement in my two years competing in triathlon.

“I’ve never competed abroad before so I’ll just approach it as relaxed as I can be and I look forward to the experience of competing in a major race.”

South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture athletics development officer Shona Girdwood introduced Grant to triathlon and is delighted to see him doing so well.

She said: “Grant is doing amazingly well and is a future world beater, most definitely.

“I swim with Grant and knew that he was doing well in running too. I organised a triathlon at Esporta, invited him to try it, and he was brilliant.

“I put Grant in touch with a really good coach and it’s just gone from there, really.

“It’s nice to see someone go from grassroots all the way up to the top.”

Triathlonscotland assistant national coach Blair Cartmell said: “Considering two of the three athletes have just moved up into the junior ranks, to make the Great Britain team is a very impressive feat.”