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Team Ireland delivered a strong performance at the 2025 European Paratriathlon Championships in Besançon, France, securing two bronze medals and multiple top-ten finishes in a highly competitive field.

The Irish squad featured seven athletes, including three guides, with representation across the PTS5 and PTVI categories. Among the highlights was another podium performance from Tom Williamson, who captured bronze in the men’s PTS5 category. Building on a silver medal at the World Triathlon Para Series in Taranto earlier in June, Williamson executed a courageous race plan in Besançon, delivering a strong swim and the fastest bike split of the day to secure third place and another major international podium.

Speaking on the race and retaining his bronze medal, Williamson shared, “Really good to retain the bronze medal again this year. Going into the race, I only wanted one thing – and it was to come on the top step…but obviously to come out with a bronze, I’m absolutely stoked. I set out with a plan, and the plan was to swim and bike with courage.”

Reflecting on his performance, Tom said “the swim was strong, and the bike was definitely probably the hardest bike I’ve had all season. I decided to really push the swim, and then bike with courage.”

There was also celebration in the women’s PTVI category as Judith MacCombe, guided by Eimear Nicholls, earned her first European Championship medal. The pair went out hard from the start, sustaining a relentless pace across all three disciplines to claim a well-deserved bronze. The performance marked a milestone in their partnership and underlined their potential as serious contenders in future major championships.

The pair also produced the fastest run of the day to claim their first championship medal. Nicholls shared, “We came onto the run in fourth place, the Germans were right in front of us – and Judith really pushed as hard as she could to catch them.”

Reflecting on the race in the high temperatures of France, Judith shared, “We went out hard, I think that was just the plan, go out and push as hard as we can the whole way through… hard swim, hard bike, hard run.”

The Irish pair executed pre-race cooling strategies to manage the conditions. “The temperature doesn’t really suit us coming from Ireland,” Nicholls noted; “but we coped with it really well and we’re really pleased with the way the race went.”

Judith’s twin sister and fellow Paralympian, Chloe MacCombe, made her European Championship debut with guide Aisling Wyer, finishing in a solid fifth place. Their performance added another layer of depth to Ireland’s strong PTVI contingent and hinted at exciting potential for the developing duo.

Chloe spoke on the new partnership, saying “It was good, solid racing throughout all three. It was Aisling’s first time guiding, a really good experience for us. Looking forward to the next race together – this is just the beginning.” 

Aisling reflected on her new role as a guide, stating, “This was a fantastic opportunity, I just went for it, and we had a lot of fun. It was a lot more challenging than I anticipated – the route itself was quite hilly and there were a couple of technical bends”, but added “I got a little bit more confidence on lap two.”

In the men’s PTVI category, Donnacha McCarthy and guide Sean Husband continued their string of consistent results with an eighth-place finish. The duo, who opened their 2025 season with a ninth-place result in Taranto, maintained their status as reliable top-ten performers on the international stage.

Reflecting on the race, Donnacha said, “We pushed hard on the swim, we knew the bike was the place where we would try to make up the most ground. Very hilly bike here, we knew that would play into our hands and it was just experience then on the run.”

Speaking on the challenging heat, Donnacha shared that it was “one of the hottest races I’ve done in my life, it was a case of dealing with the conditions here on the day rather than fitness.” Sean Husband added, “The heat prep we’ve done with the Sport Ireland Institute really paid off, using the heat chamber just helps bridge that gap between being an Irish athlete and not having these conditions to train in.”

Looking at the season ahead, Donnacha shared, “Next on the schedule is two races in Canada – World Cup in Magog and the World Series in Montreal.”

With two bronze medals and all three PTVI pairings finishing in the top eight, Team Ireland left Besançon with valuable ranking points, strengthened international standing, and growing momentum toward future Paralympic cycles.

Full results can be found HERE.