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Penza triathletes earned medals at Junior European championship

08:52 | 30.06.2014 | Sport

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Penza, 30 June 2014. PenzaNews. Penza triathletes, performing for Russia, became the winners of the European championship among juniors under 23, held in “Chistye prudy” in the Penza region on June 28-29. On the first day of the tournament the athletes competed in the personal program. At 12C and strong wind they had to overcome the track, which included 1,5 km swimming in open water, 40-km cycling and 10 km race.

Penza triathletes became winners of Junior European championship

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Penza triathlete Elena Danilova succeeded among women. It took her 2:05:50 to cover the track, beating Leonie Periault from France by 10 seconds. The third was the Belgian athlete Sofie Hooghe, who lost 50 seconds to the leader.

Penza athletes Anastasia Gorbunova and Arina Shulgina took 10 and 12 places respectively.

“The track was difficult because of the cold weather. The most difficult part was cycling because of the wind. But what really helped was the support of the fans. I heard shouts, and they drove me further. I overcame the French, gritting my teeth,” Elena Danilova shared her impressions with the correspondent of news agency “PenzaNews.”

In the men relay, the representative of Great Britain Gordon Benson celebrated the victory. The other top two winners are Spaniard Vecente Hernandes and Pedro Mendes from Portugal.

Penza triathlete Ilya Prassolov finished 14th losing two minutes to the leader.

“My strong side is running, so I did not do my best at cycling. I saved for the last stage, and rushed closer to the finish. Opponents did not expect it, so they did not manage to catch up with me,” Gordon Benson said at the finish.

The second day of the championship consisted of relay races. Team members overcame the distance, which included 250 m swimming, 5 km cycling and 1,6 km race.

The mixed start turned out to be dramatic, the Russian team included Anastasia Gorbunova and Ilya Prassolov. Throughout the relay, the team was somewhere around the fifth position. At the last stage Ilya Prassolov joined the fight and was able to close the gap with the leading group. His sprint brought the team a silver medal.

“Our opponents were strong. They were close all the time, and the finish showed the winners. I was able to divide my energy. In the end I felt that I could catch up, and accelerated. And the fans, of course, drove me forward,” Ilya Prassolov said.

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