By Noelle Lowney
The annual Jailbreak Triathlon hosted by the local Cobh Triathlon club took place on Saturday September 6th 2014 in Cobh. This is the third consecutive year that this national sporting event was held with sponsorship from the Port of Cork and local businesses. The ECCG group was on hand to take some memorable photographs of the extraordinary events of the day. Sunny skies and calm waters greeted competitors in their escape bid as well as photographers capturing the event on camera. The event also attracted huge crowds who lined the streets in their droves to cheer on the race participants.
The multi-stage competition involved the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance disciplines – swimming, cycling and running in immediate succession over various distances. The levels catered for in this flagship event were Olympic and Sprint triathlon distances. The Olympic distance consisted of a 1,500m swim from Spike Island to Cobh followed by a 40km flat fast cycle race finishing with a 10km run along the Cobh waterfront and promenade and back to the heart of the Cobh town centre. A shorter distance was available for the Sprint option consisting of a 750km swim, 20km cycle and 5km run. Relay teams consisting of 3 individuals also participated on the day – one completing the swim, one the cycle leg and the remaining person doing the run.
Over 600 triathletes from all over Ireland and afar competed in this event which saw previous winners Trevor Woods and Lorna Wolfe take part. All were competing for the fastest and overall course completion time including ‘transitions’ from the individual swim, cycle and run components. Prior to the race each competitor was fitted with an electronic timer device to their ankle used to track and monitor their performance throughout the 3 stage event.
Shortly after 2pm competitors in the Olympic event, who had already been transported across to Spike, gathered for the start of their race, which commenced at around 2.15pm. Meanwhile, competitors in the Sprint event made their way to Whitepoint for their 3pm start. Both events commenced with a swim in open water without stopping, the Olympic competitors swimming from Spike Island to Cobh while the Sprint competitors swam along the shorefront from Whitepoint to the town centre. On completion of the swim competitors made their way to the transition area where they changed gear to begin the cycle segment through the main street of Cobh town and out the coast road.
The bright coloured outfits of the cyclists, together with their athletic prowess were admirable as they were cheered on by the clapping spectators. We availed of the opportunity to capture the participant’s facial expressions of intense determination, hard hitting motivation and undefeatable attitude on camera.
On completion of the cycle segment the competitors exchanged bicycles for running shoes and finished with a run ending in the centre of Cobh town. 
Of course we were present at the finishing line to capture the emotion and delight of those who had completed the triathlon reaping the rewards of their strict and challenging training regimen, many of which participated in support of various charities such as animal welfare groups and cancer societies.
The winners of the races for both male and female were:
Olympic Distance
Male – Trevor Woods, Tim Mahony and John O Connell. Female – Donna Materson, Denise Compton and Jessica Bruton. Relay Team: Kevin Curran, Ken Devine and Mit Billy Carr
Sprint Distance
Male – David Fox, John Howlett and Peter Fagan.
Female – Elena Maslova, Dena Hogan and Marie Keane. Relay teams – Louis O Sullivan, Thomas O Neill and Shane Roche.
The event finished later that evening with a presentation to the winners. As crowds dispersed to return home Cobh returned to normality. We headed home to review our images to remind us of the sporting pedigree and sheer determination of those who took part in this prestigious county Cork sporting event.
Mouse over the image below to activate the slideshow controls. Enjoy.
[slideshow_deploy id=’5090′]
As we left Baltimore Harbour we enjoyed panoramic views of the rugged West Cork coastline, taking in landmarks such as the conspicuous, conical, white painted Baltimore Beacon, rugged landscapes and cliffs, secluded bays and inlets, Cape Clear and Sherkin Islands.
En route the boat stopped momentarily for us to photograph seals, sea birds and other marine life which inhabit the West Cork shorelines. The appearance of dolphins riding the pressure of the waves generated by the boat presented its own individual challenges to capture the ideal/perfect dolphin photo – with their excessive pace, energy and sheer athleticism emerging to breathe and then disappearing under water as fast again.
This amazing 177ft high tower of Cornish granite stands on a rock 8 miles off the coast. The first lighthouse was built in 1854 and rebuilt in 1903 as the original building became too weak to cope with the often severe weather. In 1989 the lighthouse ceased manual operation and the last keeper left the island with the implementation of a fully automatic operation. In times past Fastnet was nicknamed the ‘teardrop of Ireland’ as it was the last part of Ireland that the Irish emigrants passed as they sailed to America in the 19th century, some never to return again. Its other claim to fame includes being the turning point of the celebrated Fastnet Ocean race – a 615 nautical mile dash from UK to Ireland and back.
As sunset approached, vantage points were taken up, fingers positioned over the shutter buttons and all cameras were poised and ready to take the desired shots of this magnificent sight. We were not deterred by the rockiness of the boat as we tried to stay upright at all times and not fall over board, while holding onto cameras for dear life, navigating our way from side to side whilst dodging the spray of sea water. We were on a mission to capture this spectacular lighthouse silhouette against a backdrop of a splendid sunset and sea with fervour and gusto.
Once darkness fell it was time to return to Baltimore, all cameras were packed away and stories were exchanged about the events of the day. Jerry our skipper kindly made tea, coffee and hot chocolate for the weary photographers a welcome sight on a chilly evening.
