Members of Southend's Team Viper triathlon squad gathered for their annual prizegiving at Thundersley's King John School and marked a successful year.

Senior coach Ian Gummery reviewed the 2003 season, which began with Hadleigh's Ben Wheeler, 19, winning the prestigious Bill Smith trophy for the top junior triathlete at the ranking Windsor triathlon in June.

July saw Thorpe Bay's Adam Hickey, 15, repeat his European gold medal of 2002 at youth level.

And a month later Team Viper took junior gold at the National Relay Championships in Nottingham, where Wheeler and Hickey were joined by the 16-year-old Craig Wheeler and Brighton's Richard Dunn.

This victory gave Ben Wheeler a third National Relay gold in his three years as a junior.

Also in August Team Viper supplied three of the 12-strong Eastern Region squad to the national Inter-Regional Championships (11-16 year olds), including Hickey and King John's own Billy Hockley 14.

September's highlights included a landslide of medals at the big South Coast triathlon, staged at Seaford, East Sussex.

There were gold medals for Shoebury's Kristina Marshall, 17, and David Crichton, 15, in the super-sprint event; Crichton being followed home by team mate Chris Lee, 16, with the silver.

The Viper season culminated in Queenstown, New Zealand, where 21-year old Charmaine Wheeler produced a sensational 14th overall in the World Aquathlon (swim-run) Championships.

A host of trophies were presented, along with prizes supplied by the evening's sponsors, Browning & Daughter of London Road, Westcliff.

Trisha Browning was present, but left it to her two children, Rachel, nine, and Reuben, eight, to help assistant coach Dave Dunn award the trophies.

Kristina Marshall picked up an award as Most Improved Cyclist, and Charmaine Wheeler took a runners-up prize in the overall Triathlete of the Year award.

But the top trophy went to Adam Hickey, with his second successive European gold medal.

Published Monday January 5, 2004

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