Disney, Google, Hearst UK and more take on the 2017 Media and Advertising Triathlon

On a sunny morning in early July, Media Trust returned to the stunning setting of Dorney Lake for the 2017 Media and Advertising Triathlon. Joining us this year in the pursuit of sporting greatness were over 500 media and advertising professionals including teams from Hearst UK, Comcast, Bloomberg, Disney, Wildstone and Zenith Media. Dorney Lake played a major role in the London 2012 Olympics, so it was more than fitting that this year’s special guest was rowing legend and three time Olympic gold medal winner Pete Reed.

Dentsu Aegis Network and Year Triumph

The competitive spirit was in the air as our first event, the Olympic Individual Race kicked off, seeing Dentsu Aegis Network’s Samuel Woods take the top podium spot with a super speedy finish of 2:09:29. He was closely followed by Zenith Media’s Timothy Male and Toby Ward of CMS LLP. For the Women’s race, Naveen Rehman from Year stole the show and earned the first place on the podium, followed by Gemma Shadbolt of Wenham Carter.

The Olympic Relay

Next up came The Olympic Relay where the winning teams stood out not only for their athletic prowess, but also for their ingenious names. Team NMP with Team Tri took the first place, whilst Tri Hard With A Vengeance and Victorious Secret both from Google came in at a close second and third.

The Duathlon

Shortly after 9.30am, the klaxon for the Duathlon sounded off. Dentsu Aegis Network managed to take not one, but two places with the gold and bronze male positions going to Peter Smith and Thomas Alderman. They were joined by Michael Doyle for Wildstone Media in second place. Whilst over in the women’s race, Louise Adams from Twitter seized the gold place, with the silver and bronze spots going to Jessica Organ from ITV and Astrid Brown from Dentsu Aegis Network.

The Duathlon Relay teams secured the first victory of the day for the Team Tres Amigos Rapidos from Camelot, followed by Exterion Media’s team Ex Marks the Spot in second position and ITV’s brilliantly named Team Man Bun Lego Head coming in at third position.

Individual Sprint Distance

Our fifth event was the individual sprint distance, which was swiftly won by Tom Saggers from Dentsu Aegis Network, followed by John Brame for RG Active and Alan Lightfoot for WorleyParsons Europe ltd at second and third place. Very Hand Made managed to snatch first place in the women’s race, with Juliet Wallace-Mason finishing at 1:21:44 with Jenny Zaramba from Jazz-Work ltd and LCSA’s Kim Charlton 9 following just a few minutes behind to take second and third.

Supersprint

The final event of the brilliant day was the Supersprint race. A fancy dress clad Adrian “Boris the Tiger” Wilkins managed to steal the first place for Animal Fu despite the day’s high temperatures. He was followed by Lyndon Williams from Cedar Group in second, with Nick Hay close behind for third place. In the Women’s race, Animal Fu continued their spint spree by earning a first and third place with Molly “Patsy The Bear” Wilkins and Sarah “DJ Fin” Wilkins followed by Adrienn Fricska Nagy from NHS in third position.

Raising Funds for Media Trust

The Triathlon really was a fantastic day for all involved, but most importantly, it helped us raise valuable funds for Media Trust, helping charities to be heard. Every year Media Trust connects charities with media companies to gain skills and advice through skilled-volunteering to get their stories heard and change lives.

A Big Thank you

A big thank you to everyone who came down we are especially grateful to this year’s incredible sponsors Dentsu Aegis Networks, Sky Advance and Google UK for helping us to create such a brilliant day. We really couldn’t have done it without their support.

You can check out more photos from the day over on our Facebook page.