Swimming: Craigen leads Chester Tri charge on Dee

Jun 27 2008 by David Triggs, Chester Chronicle

THE City of Chester Triathlon Club featured prominently in the medals in the annual Dee Mile on Wednesday.

Daniel Craigen won the championship race – for non-wetsuit swimmers living within five miles of Chester Cross – over the 2,000m course from the Red House pub to the suspension bridge.

He clocked 24 minutes and 54 seconds, with Chris Malpass close in his wake with 25.04. Yvonne Broster was third, the first female finisher and first in the wetsuit category with 25:17.

Andrew Campbell (Wrecsam Tri) was fourth over the line and second in the wetsuit category with 25:56.

Richard Walsh (Warrington Dolphins LDSC) swam his way to first in the all comers category for all other non-wetsuit swimmers in a time of 28:40.

Warrington clubmate Michaela Richard bagged second place in 28:46, while Chester Tri’s Emer McCarron came third overall and first female in the championship race in 35:58.

Janine White, of race organisers Chester Tri, said: “There was no appreciable flow in the river and with a bit of a head wind in the home straight, there weren’t going to be any records broken this year.

The Dee Mile was first swum in 1922. Female swimmers have only been allowed to swim the full distance since 1993, but this year a third of the field were female.