Cornish triathlete Neil Eddy, 40, has won a bronze medal at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships in Nice.
One of Cornwall’s GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) athletes, Neil achieved third place in the 40-44 age group after a strong performance in the 1.9k swim, 90km bike ride and 21.1km run.
“I got off to a solid start in the swim and positioned myself at the front of the field,” said Neil. “The opening 20km of cycling went well but I was then given an unfortunate 2-minute penalty – later reduced to 30 seconds - that meant I lost valuable ground.
“Running has long been one of my strengths so I re-focused on that, producing one of the fastest performances across the day.
“I was really happy to finish on the podium and overcome what was initially a wrongly given penalty. Keeping calm, collected and getting on with the race was vital as, at this level, it really is all about fine margins.”
As a GSF athlete, Neil enjoys a range of benefits including free membership at any of GLL’s leisure centres throughout the UK.
“I’ve been training at St Ives Leisure Centre for the past ten years,” he said. “The staff are super supportive and it’s a great training environment that keeps the swim element at the top of my sport.”
Neil is one of 178 GSF athletes to have received funding worth £122,640 in 2026.
“Huge congratulations to Neil on his superb result at the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championships,” said Karen Edmond, GLL Community Sport Manager in Cornwall. “It was clearly a dramatic race and one that represents another major achievement in his impressive triathlon career.”
