Eoin O'Connell is two-time Irish triathlon champion and the current long-course title holder. He has represented Ireland at 20 triathlon internationals and two weeks ago in Roth, Germany, he broke the 13year-old national record for the Ironman distance with a time of nine hours 30 minutes.
Cork Triathlon Club was founded this year to both increase the profile of the sport in Ireland and provide competition opportunities for budding triathletes in the Cork area.
Membership: As the triathlon is still very much a minority sport in the country, we only have 10 members at the moment - and only one female. Each of them is very serious about the sport and train to compete at the highest level but we are looking to get more participants at every level.
Status: We're still very much in the infancy stage but the team is coming together to compete at the major events in the near future. We're also looking to organise our own event in the area next year.
Honours: This year I finished third at the national duathlon championship and Ronan Garry, the top junior in the country, competed at the world junior triathlon in Prague. Another founding member, Trevor Woods, also competed with me at the world championships in Perth last November.
Finest Hour: Personally that would be breaking Gerard Hartman's national record that stood for so long despite many efforts to take it. The time should have qualified me for the Ironman in Hawaii but unfortunately my entry was too late.
Worst Moment: Last year I crashed off my bike during the cycling stage of a race and that forced me to reconsider my career aspirations of maybe making the next Olympics, but I'd still like to stay near the top of the sport for a few years yet.
Club Hero: I suppose the five of us that started the club went out on a limb and took a chance. Peter Jack, the President of the Irish Triathlon Association, was very supportive and has done a lot of great work for the sport.
Greatest Rivals: Most of the northern clubs are very strong in competitions and especially the Triangle club which will be big rivals in the national championships.
