Emerging tri star Jess gets backing from MyTriathlon.co.uk

A promising young triathlete from Cheshire is being given a helping hand on the road towards sporting success, in the form of sponsorship from MyTriathlon.com.

Jess Connolly from Sandymoor, Runcorn, has four years’ competitive triathlon experience under her belt, and took part in her first senior-level event last year.

She has represented the north-west region for three successive years at the Inter-Regional Triathlon Championships, and followed these achievements by competing in 2019 for the first time in the National Youth and Junior Super Series, finishing just outside the top 30, and achieving a best race finish of 14th in July 2019.

Jess competes across the UK as part of these events, and it was because of the cost of kit and other travelling expenses that she approached us at MyTriathlon and asked if we could help her.

Jess asked us to help her get a number of pieces of kit, including a HUUB quilted jacket, and a cycling jersey and swim cap from the 2XU range, and we have happily provided these at a discount, in return for her agreeing to help us with this and other articles about her competitive experiences.

She is also helped with her practice and race gear by women’s clothing brand JustStrong, which has picked her as one of its ambassador athletes. This involves Jess blogging about her competitive experiences, and through this, she has become part of a 25,000-strong worldwide group of women who provide mutual support through their practice and competition.

Jess, 16, also competes in regular road and track races, at 1,500 and 3,000 metres and relays, as well as being an accomplished cross-country runner. In 2018, she was runner-up in the English schools regional team final, and the following year helped her team to a creditable second place.

Jess’s first World Triathlon event was 2019’s Southport Splash, where, as the youngest competitor, she achieved a top-10 finish.

She has been a member of Warriors of Warrington Swimming Club, and now swims with her local Halton Swimming Club. For five of the past six years, Jess has been involved in the qualifiers for the Cheshire County Swimming Championships.

Jess has just finished studying for her GCSEs at Bridgewater High School, Warrington, and hopes to be able to go on to Sir John Deane’s sixth form college in Northwich from September, once she knows the results of her 10 GCSE exams.

“Combining my studies with triathlon competitions is quite a challenge, and this year, with the added pressures of lockdown, has made the challenges that much more difficult - not least due to a lack of serious competitive events,” said Jess.

“I’ve been keeping up my training though, although the lack of public pools in which to practice has been the biggest obstacle. But then, most people are in the same situation, and we just have to try to make the best of it and stay motivated.

“The support I’ve had from Steve Collins and the people at MyTriathlon is a big help,” Jess added. “I hope to be able to return his favour of the generous supply of equipment and clothing by telling everyone that they can get all the gear they will ever need from MyTriathlon as I start to travel around the country competing again!”

Jess is also sharing her experience of life as an athlete through lockdown as part of a university study.

And while she has missed out on sitting her GCSEs this summer, she has been keeping busy, besides her ongoing training programme, by regularly baking at home.

“I am quite a skilled baker, and I really enjoy it and love to experiment with different ingredients,” Jess said. However, as she continues to immerse herself in her training, and looks forward to hopefully being able to compete again before the end of 2020, her application for the Great British Bake-Off is likely to have to wait for a while yet!

Once competitive racing resumes, we’ll be keeping you updated on Jess’s progress, as well as hopefully bringing you some of her insights into life on the competition circuit.