Siblings Isla and Anna surge into national and European team selection reckoning

Sisters Isla and Anna Hedley recently travelled to Loughborough and Nottingham to take part in British Triathlon’s performance assessments, a qualifying event for the youth and junior British super series.

Youth athlete, Isla, 15, swam a 400m time trial, followed up a day later with a 10km bike, which was handicapped according to swim times, straight into a 2.5km run.

Anna, 17, was racing in the junior 17-19 age group, with the same format, but distances all doubled.

An fifth place finish for Isla and third place for Anna, both members of Step Rock Swimming Club, meant they secured entries for the next super series event in Hetton, near Durham, last weekend.

Isla Hedley eats up the track on the run

The Hetton super-sprint format was fast and furious, with heats leading to qualifying for either A or B finals, all with a 350m open water swim, 7.2km draft legal bike and a 1.8km run.

Isla qualified for the A final, and with a good cycle and run, finished 13th overall, and fifth youth A, 15-16 years.

She will now be invited to represent Scotland at the UK school games in September.

Anna went into the final knowing a top three finish would earn her Great Britain selection for the European youth championships in Alanya, Turkey, in late September.

She happier with her swim than in the earlier heat, and caught up the lead group on the first bike lap.

She maintained second place on the run behind England’s Beth Cook and now awaits confirmation of selection for the championships, overseas travel regulations permitting.

It’s a busy period for the sisters – this weekend sees them represent Scotland in the Home Countries Youth International hill-race, in Ambleside, Cumbria.