Podium place at major European triathlon competition

University of Stirling triathlete Isla Hedley has notched up another career milestone – achieving a podium finish at major off-road event, the XTERRA European Championship.

Isla – who is going into her second year studying a BA (Hons) French – put in a fantastic performance to finish third in the Elite Women’s race, held in Zittau, Germany, over the weekend.

After a 1.5k swim, 37k cycle and a 10k run, Isla completed the race with a time of 03:14:33, behind first-placed Solenne Billouin (France, 3:08:55) and second-placed Aneta Grabmuller (Czech Republic, 3:11:26). Notably, Isla’s swim was the fastest of the day, with a time of 00:21:02.

Isla, 20, from St Andrews, is supported through sports scholarships from the University and from the national scholarship programme, Winning Students 100.

The podium place comes just weeks after Isla won the Under-23 category at the World Triathlon Cross Championships in Spain – and coach Marc Austin was full of praise for her latest feat.

Marc, Lead Coach of the National Triathlon Centre, a partnership between the University of Stirling and Triathlon Scotland, said: “Isla had a really strong race in Germany, and to come away with third place represents her best result in the off-road discipline so far.

“She’s clearly moving forward in terms of her performance too – improving on the Worlds earlier in the season and building on last year’s progress too. Congratulations to Isla on her latest achievement – we’re excited for what’s to come next.”

Meanwhile, fellow triathlete Tom Williamson enjoyed success last month at the Para World Series in Montreal – putting in a strong performance to finish second in the PTS5 category. Tom finished with a time of 00:57:32, just behind Stefan Daniel (Canada, 00:56:35) and ahead of third-placed Chris Hammer (United States, 00:57:42).

Excellence

The University of Stirling is Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence. At Stirling, athletes have access to world-class facilities, including a 50-metre pool, unrivalled outdoor space, and state-of-the-art strength and conditioning suites. In addition to its coaching and facilities, Stirling’s International Sports Scholarship Programme – one of the largest high-performance programmes in the UK – offers athletes funding support, academic flexibility, equipment and kit. It has supported hundreds of athletes since its inception in 1981 – with many competing on the world stage, including at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.

Core sports include triathlon, football, golf, tennis, swimming, rugby and curling, while individual scholarships cover all Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games sports.

Read more about sports scholarships at the University of Stirling.