A father and son from Carlisle have qualified for the Ironman World Championships after leading the field in their age groups in Ironman 70.3 Oman.
Phil and Matthew Whitehead will be competing in the international race in Marbella in November. Their qualifying contest saw them complete a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile cycle and a 13.1 mile run in 30 degree sunshine.
Phil, a shift team leader for E.on at Steven’s Croft Power Station, is a seasoned triathlete and has already competed at the world championships in Hawaii in 2017, then in Nice in 2019 and 2023.
Matthew, a project management degree apprentice with Atkins Realis, only took up triathlon two years ago.
He had his first major win as part of a relay team at Lakesman, the award-winning event he organises with Phil and mum Marie. Ironman 70.3 Oman was his first attempt at qualifying for the world championships.
Matthew was quicker than his dad on the swim by four minutes, finishing in 26:36, before heading out on the bike, where he also led the way again, completing the cycle in two hours 14 minutes.
However, the run is Phil’s strongest discipline and he finished the half marathon in one hour 25 minutes, six minutes faster than Matt.
Overall, Phil completed the race just over a minute slower than Matt. Matthew had led the 18 to 24-year-old athletes from the gun, finishing in a time of four hours 18 minutes – a massive 18 minutes ahead of his age group competitors.
Phil had worked his way through the 45 to 49 age group to win in a time of four hours 19 minutes.
Matt said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have qualified at my first attempt and I cannot wait for Marbella. There is already a big group of supporters who have booked flights and hotels to cheer us on so it should be a great weekend.”
Phil added: “I am really happy to have qualified so early in the season and it makes it even better that was are both competing in Marbella. Matthew taking part has meant I’ve had to get back into serious training to keep him on his toes.”
Matt and Phil were joined in Oman by Marie and one of Matthew’s best friends Charlie Atkinson.
Both of them will also be travelling to Lanzarote in May and then on to Marbella as the boys’ support team.
In between all of this, they are organising Lakesman 2025 at Keswick which, this year, also includes the British and English Championships. It is the first time Cumbria has been chosen to host the prestigious events.
