Triathlon

Sligo has a long and happy association with this competition. The All Ireland Triathlon (half-ironman) was staged in Sligo from 1985 to 1994 organized by a dedicated committee led by the late Pat Curley RIP. The event began in 1985 as a relative fun event but grew to become quite competitive by the mid-nineties. This led to a decline in interest, especially in the grueling half-ironman distance.

The Sligo course, with the sheltered  bay at Rosses Point for the swim, the spectacular scenic bike course around the two lakes and the challenging run section under Ben Bulbens head, made for great viewing as RTE's Justin Nelson directed a full hour-long TV program dedicated to this event for a number of years.

A new generation of triathletes have now appeared and many competitions take place around Ireland. The new classic distance is the Olympic distance (1.5K, 40K, 10K)

See the Links for information on the Irish Triathlon Association