Stirling triathletes take gold at World Championship

University of Stirling triathletes Alex Robin and Millie Breese have won gold medals with Great Britain at the World Championships in Australia. 

The duo - along with teammates Bethany Cook and Oliver Conway - finished ahead of the Netherlands in the Mixed Under-23 Junior Relay in Wollongong. Britain's quartet completed the four legs (each comprising a 250m swim, 5.2km bike ride, and 1.67km-1.7km run) in 01:07:58, with the runners-up finishing in 1:08:02.

It came after Alex won an individual silver in the Junior event. Out of 62 competitors, Alex finished second with an impressive time of 00:55:46, just five seconds off winner Tristan Douche (France), and three seconds ahead of third-placed Ignacio Flores Arana (Chile). Alex completed a 750m swim in 09:18, a 20km bike ride in 30:17 and a 5km run in 15:03.

It caps a successful period for the 19-year-old first-year BSc Economics student, who qualified for the Worlds with a brilliant performance at the British Youth and Junior Championships.

Also at the Championships, held in coastal Wollongong, New South Wales, in their individual events, the University’s Tom Williamson (Ireland) finished sixth in the Para PTS5 event with a time of 1:00:47 (0.9km swim, 20km bike ride, 5km run), and Millie (Great Britain) was 19th in the Under-23s with a time of 2:00:10 (1.5km swim, 40km bike ride, 10km run).

Speaking after his individual race, Alex, who trains at the National Triathlon Centre – a partnership between the University of Stirling and Triathlon Scotland, said: “It is a privilege to be here, representing your country and being here with the under-23s and the elites is really good experience – just to learn from them and see how they go about their training and recovery as well. It has been a great two weeks here, on prep camp and then to top it up with that is amazing.

“I came into the swim pretty confident – I’d say that’s my strongest leg. About halfway through, I saw that three of us that had a bit of a gap – so then, at that point, I just made it as easy as possible for myself before the bike, because I knew that was going to be intense and hard with that course.”

Achievement

David Bond, Head of Performance Sport at the University of Stirling, said: “On behalf of everyone at University of Stirling Sport, I send our warmest congratulations to Alex and Millie on their phenomenal performance at the World Championships. To win their event, on the international stage, is an incredible achievement and reflects the hard work they put in each day here at the National Triathlon Centre at the University of Stirling.

“I also extend our congratulations to Tom on qualifying and competing at the Championships.”

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.