Roller Skiing Goes To Ireland As Part Of Galway Bay Marathon

The second-ever Roller Skiing event in Ireland was held as part of the Galway Bay Marathon. Galway has been very supportive of the Irish roller ski team, allowing them to compete in on home soil in the only event of its kind in Ireland.

With Vegard Vinje (NOR), one of the top marathon skiers in the world at the start, it was clear that local hero Thomas Maloney Westgaard, an Olympian from Pyoeng Chang would be challenged at his home event in Galway.  

During the course of the race, Vinje broke a pole and skied just over half of the first big loop with only one pole. Maloney, ever the gentleman, waited and they went out on the second lap together. At the end of the race two strong sprinters battled it out with the Norwegian beating the local hero by just a few second in the end. Veteran Dominic McAleenan, the Irish team captain, took third place.

Irish Cross-Country Skiing lined out in the Full Marathon for the second time this year at Run Galway Bay. They started their race  at 08:15 just ahead of the Full Marathon of runners at 08:30.

The team iwas delighted to have been invited back to Run Galway Bay Full Marathon. Last year was an excellent experience for them to compete on Irish soil for the first time ever. The team were careful to fit in with the marathon runners and really appreciated the support and care shown from both sides.

This year the team returned with two Olympians. Thomas Maloney Westgård, now 22 won the inaugural race last year in a time of 2 hours 6 minutes. Last year was Thomas first full season. Just before the Olympics in February Thomas finished third in the Austrian championships, the best ever finish for an Irish cross-country skier in an FIS race. He followed that performance up with three great results in the Olympics. The first ever Irish cross country skier to qualify as an A athlete and therefore compete in multiple races.

The second  Olympian on the team was Jan Rossiter (31). Jan competed in the 15 km race at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, where he put in a fine performance. Jan lives in Canada and is making the long journey to Galway. Joining Thomas and Jan is the only Irish winter biathlon athlete, Brian Kennedy. Brian (28)  has only recently returned to Utah from summer training in Estonia.

The organiser were pleased to see  Thomas competing for Ireland in the tracks. The combination of skiing and the marksmanship with a rifle is a challenge. The Irish captain, Dominic McAleenan (48), originally from Banbridge, now living in Sweden, makes up the fourth member of the team. The veteran competes in longer marathon and double marathon races in Sweden and Norway. The week before Galway he competed in a 90 km rollerski race in Karlstad Sweden.

Joining the competition this year was Norway’s Vegard Vinje. Vegard is studying for his doctorate in London, but is a skier of rank with many top results in major races both on snow and wheels.

Ireland intends to see their first female roller skiers in Galway in 2019.