Member Article

European Gold for North East athlete

Cleveland triathlete Paul Brown, swam, pedalled and ran his ways to glory with a gold medal at the European Triathlon Championships.

Paul, 36, from Guisborough, beat over 50 other competitors in the 35-40 year age group in the race staged at Kitzbuhel in Austria.

The gruelling event included a 750m swim across Schwarzsee Lake, a technical and hilly cycle race and a 5km run. Paul excelled in all categories and finished the race with a healthy 22 second lead.

The win was testament to a rigorous training schedule and the financial backing from The Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation and his employer, Stockton based px group.

He said: “I trained hard for the qualification race at Newbiggin-by-the-sea in Northumberland and was over the moon to have qualified for the championship. Without my work colleagues making me aware of Middlesbrough and Teesside Philanthropic Foundation and the support of px group I wouldn’t have been able to compete, so I can’t thank them enough for this opportunity.”

The foundation, which raises and allocates funds to community groups and charities across Teesside, granted Paul £500 to make the trip whilst px provided the Teesside Gas Processing Plant operations technician with additional funds and a shift pattern that allowed time for training and attending the event.

He added: “Receiving the funding gave me the extra incentive to make my colleagues and the members of the foundation proud. It has been very challenging balancing training with work and family life but it has been equally rewarding.”

“My wife Toni and the children, Emily aged 9 and Katie, 7, are fantastic and although Toni jokes about me training more than being in the house, she is really supportive”

Director of Business Development at px, David Henderson, added “Paul has dedicated vast amounts of his spare time to his sport and we are thrilled that his commitment, drive and ambition have resulted in a gold medal.”

The group, which operates, manages and maintains energy and process plants around the UK and provides engineering expertise around the world, has donated almost £30,000 to the foundation over the past couple of years.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .