It was the most hotly contested award in sport. Ten domestic Goliaths of the long distance triathlon game have spent the month of November battling it out in front of you to be awarded the Beyond Going Long Readers Triathlete of the Year 2014 sponsored by VO2 Cycling.

All ten were amazing athletes this year and all were deserving of your nominations but there could only be two winners. This year you chose Joe Skipper and Jodie Swallow to be your very deserving champions.

Jodie Swallow - Triathlete of the Year 2014

A huge congratulations to the excellent Jodie Swallow, who had a marvelous year after transferring from one mentor and coach in Brett Sutton, to the next in Siri Lindley. That link-up has proved more than fruitful with Swallow claiming 2nd at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships and a 4th at the Ironman World Championships.

Swallow also recorded top performances at Ironman 70.3 South Africa (1st), Ironman 70.3 Boulder (1st), and the Ironman St George 70.3 U.S Championships (2nd) and 3rd at Hyvee 5150. She really is a classy operator and collected 46.24% of your vote. Congratulations to Jodie!

Jodie commented on hearing of her win:

A huge thank you to all who voted for me and took the time out of their day to support. I have had so many messages from people throughout the year that are invested in my career, not only when it is going well but when it is a struggle too.

Results:

1. Jodie Swallow 46.24%
2. Caroline Livesey 37.52%
3. Rachel Joyce 9.17%
4. Lucy Gossage 5.35%
5. Leanda Cave 1.7%

Triathlete of the Year Joe Skipper

Joe Skipper proved once again that he is one of our top domestic talents, with solid results in some of the biggest UK races this year, iwith the biggest standing out as that win at the first edition of Challenge Weymouth. A classy speedster who is chasing fast times as well as results, Joe also stepped it up at Ironman UK and on the Castle Triathlon Series. We’ve been saying this at Beyond Going Long for our 3 years in existence, but Joe Skipper is one to watch and is now fulfilling all that potential with race wins.

Joe said:

Thanks to everyone that voted for me, it’s really great to get voted the Triathlete of the Year, especially against athletes like Tim Don and Will Clarke who have performed very well this year.

Results

1. Joe Skipper 40.78%
2. Tim Don 33.81%
3. Harry Wiltshire 16.31%
4. Will Clarke 5.54%
5. Fraser Cartmell 3.56%