Mildenhall mum-of-two Angela Joiner-Handy enjoys success in Australia with podium finish at World Triathlon Sprint Duathlon Championships

A mum-of-two from a Suffolk town has secured a podium finish in an international duathlon competition in Australia.

Angela Joiner-Handy, 55, of Mildenhall, came second in her age category of women aged 55 to 59 and finished 40th out of 225 females overall at the World Triathlon Sprint Duathlon Championships 2024.

She put in two months of serious training for the event in Townsville, Queensland, which combines running and cycling, leaving out the swimming aspect that is included in a triathlon.

Angela said: “I was very pleased to get a podium spot as this isn’t my first sport and I don’t actually enjoy training for this so I knew I had to put in some serious work to give myself a chance.

“It’s now the third silver I’ve received for running a duathlon and it was a really strong field to compete in so I’m super happy about second place.

“There was a New Zealand athlete who just caught me as we were finishing the bike leg so I managed to go hard on the last run to secure that silver.”

Angela added she has been doing GB duathlons for 15 years and loves the sport and the community.

However, her main sport is powerlifting and she began training for her duathlon in Townsville, after achieving a world record deadlift at the WDFPF World Single Lift Championships in Amsterdam in June.

She secured a lift of 130.5kg in the M4 (55+ years category) and 50.5kg category.