NHS Derby and Derbyshire’s Emma Holt celebrates more Aquathlon success

NHS Derby and Derbyshire’s Emma Holt battled through choppy waters in the Spanish city of Bilbao to finish seventh in the 25-29 age group at the European Aquathlon Championships recently. Emma, who is an Information Governance Assistant, recorded a personal best time of 14:26 for the 1km swim, and an excellent 19min 55sec for the 5km run section.

The event was due to have a swim sandwiched between two run segments, but the organisers decided to begin with the swim instead due to the conditions. Both her times were improvements on her performance at the World Championships in Samorin in August, as she cut 31 seconds off her time in the run and more than two minutes off her swim time from the event in Slovakia.

“It was a really difficult swim leg, with some competitors having to be pulled out of the water, and some were injured due to the slippery steps, so I was really pleased to have improved from the world championships,” Emma said after the event.

The event is the last major Aquathlon for the year, and she will use the Winter and early Spring to prepare for the World Aquathlon Championships in May next year. Over the next couple of months, Emma is going to focus on the 10km distance, and will be racing in the Bolsover 10k in early December.