JERSEY Triathlon have revealed an eight-strong team set to travel to Orkney for the 2025 Island Games in July.
Following a rigorous selection process, Dale Quenault, Dirk Swart, Jack Kennedy, Laurie Corbel, Peter Holmes, Tom Atkinson, Wayne Quenault and Claire Forbes – who is the only female competitor in the team – were selected to represent Jersey in Scotland.
Commenting on the selection, team manager Dave Holmes said: “It’s unfortunate that we are unable to field a full ladies team for next year, but I think we have a great chance of defending the men’s team gold with the squad we have, and with Ollie Turner and Josh Lewis not racing I think Tom [Atkinson] will also be looking at an individual medal, potentially gold.
“With the likely low temperatures in Orkney there is a chance that the swim might be shortened, but our team has a great mix of strengths and that diversification means the team will be strong regardless of what happens with the course.”
The Island Games’ triathlon is set to take place on Sunday 13 July at Stromness Harbour and will consist of a standard Olympic distance triathlon of a two-lap 1500m swim, five-lap 40km cycle and four-lap 10km run.
Jersey, who have a storied history in the sport at the Games, have their sights set on defending gold for the men, with two of the top three Caesarean performers from Guernsey 2023 returning, alongside a host of new faces.
Atkinson and Kennedy return to represent the Caesareans for the second time at the Island Games, having finished in fourth and seventh respectively in Guernsey last year.
Forbes is a veteran of both athletics and triathlon at the Games and 2025 will mark her third time in the triathlon team having finished 11th in the 2023 instalment.
However, Orkney will not include the mixed-team relay in their schedule, therefore Jersey will be unable to defend their title.
For this reason, some of the local elite junior triathletes have instead chosen to focus their efforts on elite short-course racing in the UK and Europe for 2025.
Jersey Triathlon squad for Orkney 2025: Dale Quenault, Claire Forbes, Dirk Swart, Jack Kennedy, Laurie Corbel, Peter Holmes, Tom Atkinson, Wayne Quenault. Team manager: Dave Holmes
