Annual Club Awards
Mersey Tri is full of members who dedicate themselves to triathlon, both improving themselves and helping others. Each year, members can nominate and vote for fellow athletes to recognise their pursuits and achievements.
2021 Awards
Female Athlete of The Year
Lorna Harper
Lorna has continued her good form and has proven that she can improve every season! She won her age group at Chester Middle Distance Tri, she fought off strong competition to finish 3rd in her age group at Southport tri and completed her first Ironman Distance at Dalesman Tri in what was a difficult day out with far more climbing on her broken bike that she would have hoped for. Lorna capped off the season with a strong performance at Manchester marathon. She has put in the hard work over the last 18 months and is looking to recapture the best female athlete crown.
Male Athlete of The Year
Phil Johnson
Phil has competed in a full time trial season and has improved his times at every distance (10, 25 and 50 miles) at the Firefighters 2 up he teamed up with fellow competitor Mark Clair to finish 4th overall. He has set a new 5k pb with a lightning quick 16:42. At Chester middle distance he was 10th overall (3rd in AG) and competed in the Outlaw full completing his first full distance triathlon in just 9:45, achieving the fabled sub 10 time at his first attempt. He followed this up with 5th overall at West Lancs Tri. This is Phil’s first time being put up for the best male triathlete but he more than deserves the recognition from the membership.
Volunteer of The Year
Baz Williams
Baz is recognised as one of the most dedicated and enthusiastic members of the club. In his committee role as Liverpool rep Baz ensures member’s voices are heard and he loves welcoming and supporting new and current members. Baz puts so much of his own time and energy into helping the club behind the scenes and is now leading run sessions as a community activator..
Most Improved female triathlete
(Tom Walker Memorial Award)
Steffy Kenwright
Steffy has had a brilliant year of triathlon, she is relatively new to the sport but has worked hard to develop her abilities across all three disciplines. A regular at the clubs training sessions including Crosby pool, Kings gardens, Litherland Track and the clubs Watersports social dock swim, Steffy has certainly put in the hours! Steffy competed at Southport Sprint as her first ever triathlon putting everyones transition times to shame, she also competed at Splashworld Tri and Deva Divas sprint. She has really upped her game in the open swimming world taking on the Tal Y Lyn swim challenge, the Collingwood dock 2km challenge, the Windermere 5k challenge and the Princes dock 5km charity fundraiser. A brilliant year and more to come next season we are sure!
Most Improved male triathlete
(Alan Kirkham Award)
Louis Johnson
Louis never really had a chance to avoid the triathlon world once he finished University quickly being dragged into running and cycling by his brother Phil. He started the year borrowing a bike from a friend and just doing the odd run, by the end of the year he was a regular at the Sefton park chainy and on weekend rides (with his own brand new bike), there was a point in the last 12 months when he struggled to swim 100 metres but now he would think nothing of diving head first into the docks. He has taken to multisport like we all knew he would and has smashed out some brilliant results this year including taking a minute off his 5k PB, 6 minutes off his half marathon time and rounded out the year with an amazing day out at Sandman, smashing the swim in choppy conditions and finishing in the top 10 in his age group. Louis' improvement is plain to see and he has an exciting future in the sport.
Coach/Activator
of the Year
Al Smithson
Al has worked hard with the Tuesday night run club at Sefton park this year and has made sure that there is a quality run session every week, Al’s Octopus session has already gone down in club folklore as the stuff of Legend and he continues to come up with great new ideas to keep the session fresh for our members.
2020 Awards
Female Athlete of The Year
Samantha Howard
Sam has fought through injury this year to come back stronger at the tail end of the season, she always sets strong race goals and recorded the 5th fastest bike split of the day (including the men) at the rescheduled Birmingham Triathlon and did similar in the Epicman Sprint distance triathlon finishing a close 4th overall female and first placed vet. Sam was the first female to finish the cross Mersey swim with a Butterfly stroke flourishing finish which delighted the crowds. Sam also teamed up with Yvie Ryan to form a swim run team with another strong performance in this year’s club event. Sam is widely regarded as one of the clubs strongest female racers and is now looking forward to a strong 2021 season.
Male Athlete of The Year
John Thelwell
John has had a superb year. He has built on his strong performances in 2019 and has come back stronger. With very few full distance races available worldwide John travelled to Ironman Talin and produced an iconic result. He finished 3rd overall and 2nd in his age category, John recorded a finish time of 8 hours and 34 minutes and secured his world championship slot in Kona in October 2021 where he will take on the world’s best.
Volunteer of The Year
Sue Ennis
Sue has always volunteered her time to the club in her joint roles of club secretary and club coach. Following her retirement this year Sue took on the additional role of covid officer, this involved countless hours of paperwork, contacting relevant authorities, running zoom meetings, emailing members, setting up new working practices and reviewing coach’s plans for sessions. It must of seemed like a thankless task at the best of times. Although all of this hard work took place in the background, this nomination shows that there is no doubt in members minds that without Sue's hard work this year we wouldn’t have had an operating club at all.
Coach/Activator of The Year
Sue Ennis
Sue has completed her level 2 BTF qualification this year and has thrown herself into organising and coaching sessions for the club. It has been hard going to get sessions off the ground that are compliant with the new covid regulations but Sue has worked tirelessly to get the club sessions back. Not only has she started her own Kings Garden run sessions she is a regular coaching at the track and has successfully re-started the Formby pool sessions. Without Sue’s hard work this year it is safe to say there would not have been any MerseyTri sessions at all following the national lockdown, she works tirelessly for our members and we hope her nomination for this award shows her how valued she is.
Most Improved Triathlete
Phil Johnson
Phil has had a year of PB’s which members have noted and he received many nominations for this award. He had his best finish in the cross country championships during the winter where he brilliantly captained the team to another championship win and the clubs third in a row. On a personal level, Phil achieved a half marathon PB at Liverpool half with a short 1:22 and achieved a lifelong dream of completing a sub 3 hour marathon in Marakesh. Phil completed his first ever half distance triathlon finishing 24th overall at Epicman and he looks forward now to completing his first full Ironman at Frankfurt 2021.
2019 Awards
Female Athlete of The Year
LORNA HARPER
Lorna has had an amazing year and has made great improvements across the board. After turning up with 2 minutes till transition closing at the Southport Triathlon, Lorna went on to dominate her age group race picking up 1st place. She also put in a fantastic performance at the clubs own sealman event and in high winds and choppy seas was first female over the line. She has now set her sights on completing Ironman Frankfurt next year so a busy winter of training awaits!
Male Athlete of The Year
JOHN FITZGERALD
Is It even a race if John isn’t involved? It doesn’t matter where in the world the race is taking place, from Southport to San Franciso you will find him on the start sheet. John has completed an incredible number of 70.3’s this year and can often be found running a marathon one week and a half marathon the following weekend. John also holds an unofficial award for owning the most Mersey Tri branded kit and is a fantastic representative for the club.
Volunteer of The Year
PHIL JOHNSON
Captain fantastic for the running team, Phil always whips up the team into a frenzy in the lead up to a multi terrain or XC race and has been instrumental in the male team dominating the north-west cross-country league for the last 2 years. He is aiming to make it a hat trick of wins this year. Phils enthusiasm has been a big reason for the club regularly having 40 plus members turn up to compete on cold Sunday mornings and wet Tuesday evenings.
Coach of The Year
MIKE LISLE
Mike has worked tirelessly for the club for many years, he runs the track sessions during the Winter, the Crosby open water sessions, Crosby pool sessions, organises the swim run and seal man events. When he isn’t jet setting around the world representing Great Britain in events Mike is always on hand to offer help and advice and is an amazing representative of the club.
Most Improved Triathlete
JAY BRITTLES
Jay has always been a quick runner but has really kicked up a level this year, he is bothering the elite up and down the country it hasn’t come as a shock to see him podium repeatedly this year. Jay has found his dream competition in duathlon (now that he doesn’t have to worry about the swim) and has gone on to represent GB on international duty. His running, incredibly, continues to improve and he has recently won the first North West League XC race of the year. It is no shock that Jay has been nominated for most improved.