EVESHAM Vale Triathletes ace Melanie Clarke is celebrating after winning a gold medal against some of the best triathletes in the country at the Deva Middle Distance Triathlon on Sunday.
The Chester event is part of the Home Nations Championships and, with a 1,900m river swim to start, over half of which was upstream, athletes then raced 87km on the bike course and finished with a 21km run.
Clarke’s time of five hours and six minutes earned her the gold medal as fastest English athlete in her age group for the Home Nations and she also finished close behind a Scottish rival to take second place in the overall race for her age group.
Clarke’s result was made all the more remarkable considering she was involved in a major car crash earlier in the week which had left her shaken and unsure whether she would race at all.
She said: “I didn’t decide to race until Saturday morning so arrived in Chester a little disorganised, slept in my car and then had a fantastic race!”
Clarke’s time was a personal best for the distance and the race provided ideal preparation for the upcoming European Championships in Romania.
