Elliot Lassiter (18) a member of Marlborough and District Junior Athletics Club (MADJA) and the South West Triathlon Academy was presented with a Sports Scholarship Grant of £500 by Baroness Scott of Bybrook OBE, leader of Wiltshire Council in a special ceremony at County Hall, Trowbridge on February 23.
Baroness Scott said, “We are committed to supporting our rising sports stars and we know that these grants make a huge difference helping with their development and providing much needed financial support for competitions, events and training camps.”
Elliot finished third in his category in the Duathlon World Championships in Aviles, Spain in June 2016. This year he aims to qualify for the Elite European Cup Series (a series of races in different European venues). If he finishes in the top eight in the Sospan Sprint Triathlon in Llanelli on May 13 he will represent Great Britain in the Series.
“It will be very difficult because there will be two Olympic development athletes (athletes who are likely to represent GB in the next Olympics) competing against me” he said. Elliot’s long term aim is to compete in the 2024 Olympics, but in the immediate future he has embarked on a rigorous training schedule which gives equal weight to the three Triathlon disciplines : swimming, cycling and running. Usually a triathlon is composed of a 800m swim, followed by a 20km cycle and a 5km run.
He completes at least twenty hours of training a week, often swimming before school (he is a student at Dauntsey’s). In the winter he uses the turbo bike indoors but in summer he can be found cycling a 65 mile circuit from his home in Lockeridge as well as training on the Marlborough College track.
It all started when he was eight years old and his mother persuaded him to enter a Duathlon at Throxham which he won. Elliot is also convinced that his competitive streak has been developed by his older brother, Adam. “I’ve always been trying to beat him!” Juggling revising for his A-levels in Biology, Chemistry and Maths as well as preparing for triathlons is tough. Elliot says he is very grateful for the support of his parents to keep organised and on top of things.
In September he hopes to study Human Physiology at the University of Leeds and to make full use of the University’s excellent athletic facilities. Elliot told marlborough.news that he is passionate about Triathlon because, “I like all three disciplines and I like having to push myself until you reach the point where you feel like you’re hurting but you know you can keep pushing harder, go through the pain and get to the line and win.”
A Shepherds Hut – a traditional local and desirable addition to any garden
