A LOCAL triathlete won the super series, having to beat a former pupil he used to train, to claim the title, in what has been one of the strangest triathlon seasons in memory.

Oliver Simon has been competing in triathlons since his teenage years and is still showing he has what it takes to compete with the best in his veteran years.

Competing over different distances and having to navigate event cancellations due to Covid, he managed to string four races in five weeks to finish 2021 on a high.

The season started in June - much later than usual - with a half Ironman.

Olly then moved on to the first race in the Welsh Super series at Pembrokeshire Coast Triathlon.

A regular at this event, Olly came a close second after a battle with fellow local athlete Alex Matchett.

Next up Olly turned his attention to the long distance and entered Tallinn Ironman.

Olly lead the race for 150km on the bike then started to fade and the rest of the race turned into a fight to finish rather than competing

Bala Olympic was next. The first as part of a super series.

Olly showed his experience and lead from start to finish to win overall and put himself in a solid position in the series.

Outlaw Bowood was a week after. It's a half Ironman distance against quality athletes and Olly put together a solid race with a podium

Next was Ironman 70.3 Bolton.

Bolton is known as a brutal course with lots of elevation and technical sections and Olly fought off local athletes to win the overall race.

On the victory, Olly said: "It was great to get all the exposure for winning such a prestigious race and it was shame that was my last long distance race of the season."

Last race of the calendar was the Barry sprint triathlon which was to try and clinch the super series title.

Olly battled it out with a 19-year-old he had previously coached, to win the overall title by less than a second.

Afterwards Olly said: "I had to get everything right today as it came down to the wire. I hung in there and got the result in the end."