Natasha secures bronze at world event

HENLEY triathlete Natasha Harris-White has added a new accolade to her athletic CV, taking a bronze medal at the World Triathlon Age Group Championships in Torremolinos, Spain, in the 25 to 29 age group.

Following her third place finish at the Ironman World Championships in September, Harris-White has now achieved two successive podium finishes in two global events.

Representing Great Britain for the first time, and competing over the Olympic rather than the longer Ironman distance, she exited the water in 12th place after a choppy 1,500m sea swim. She then posted the third fastest split on the 40km/three-lap bike course which took her into bronze medal position. She held on to this with a solid 36.58 10km run, giving her an overall time of two hours, 14 minutes and 20 seconds.

She was supported at the championships by her partner, Tom Scholefield, who looks after much of her technical preparation and regularly joins her swim and bike training.

Harris-White paid tribute to him after the race, saying: “Tom’s always there to do the stuff I’m really bad at — after travelling he makes sure my bike’s working properly — the last thing you need in a big race is to worry about something not working or making funny noises. And of course, he’s able to cheer me on and update me on my race position too.”

With success in this last major competition of 2024, Harris-White can look forward to a winter of hard training with satisfaction. She added: “It’s been an amazing journey so far, and I’m thrilled to have represented GB. I’ve had loads of encouragement from everyone in Henley and hope to do even better next year.”

Her next challenge is to take part in the annual “Swim to Live” 100 x 100m charity swim at Gillotts pool next month in aid of the Chiltern Centre.