The first taste of international triathlon racing is on the way for 2025 this weekend with the World Triathlon Champion Series and World Triathlon Para Cup in Abu Dhabi, and Continental Cups in Asia and South America.
James Edgar will be the first of Ireland’s international triathletes to toe the startline this weekend as he takes on the 2025 World Triathlon Championship Series Sprint Distance race in Abu Dhabi. Having climbed to 47th in the World Triathlon World Rankings last year, narrowly missing out on the New Flag spot for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, Edgar will have had the opportunity to recover from a tough block of racing and travelling in 2024 and will hope to demonstrate his abilities are firmly at WTCS level going forwards.
The World Triathlon Championship Series Mixed Relay takes place the following day with Ireland submitting a team of four. With Erin McConnell and Hollie Elliot travelling to race, with two of the following three male athletes to be confirmed ahead of the race; James Edgar, Ralf Bodamer and Russell White.
Sunday also sees the Para athletes to kick-off the new Paralympic cycle in Abu Dhabi. Among the competitors are Paralympian Chloe MacCombe and her guide Aoibh Clarke. MacCombe made her Paralympic debut at the Paris Games in 2024. Taking place on the 15th of February, this season opener in the UAE offers triathletes their first chance to earn valuable points and set the tone for an action-packed year ahead.
Meanwhile at the 2025 Asia Triathlon Cup Chennai, Luke McCarron will get his season underway on Sunday 16th.
Both James Edgar and Chloe MacCombe are previous Tri Talking Sport podcast guests.
Having chatted with a younger James Edgar in 2022, I thought “We have seen some great results from James Edgar but I believe the best is yet to come and with the amount of ‘hard graft’ as he says himself, consistency in his training, his approach to life as an athlete, coupled with his can do and will do attitude, we will see his appetite for success building to deliver many more great days and results across swim, bike and run.”
You can tune in HERE to see just how far he’s come since that conversation in 2022!
Chloe was a guest on podcast in January 2023. She became the first Irish para-triathlete to win a championship medal at the Commonwealth Games taking home a silver medal in 2022. We spoke with Chloe and her twin sister Judith, also an Irish para-triathlete, about their journey in para triathlon and are giving it everything so they can to make it to the Paralympics in Paris in 2024.
You can find the episode HERE.
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