Moore twins light up Irish triathlon circuit

2021 has proven a great sporting year for Cavan sisters Charlotte and Olivia Moore. Having claimed the top two places in the Irish Youth Series, the twins also represented their country for the first time at an elite international competition, writes Damian McCarney.

When the Moore sisters Olivia and Charlotte entered into the Junior European Cup in Portugal, it was widely viewed as a taster event for athletes dipping their toes into the world of elite sports. But of course Covid has a habit of turning everything on its head. The pandemic forced the cancellation of the World Junior Triathlon Championship in Bermuda and suddenly Portugal was upgraded to host the Worlds in Quarteira.

The arrival of the cream of the crop saw rookies galore pull out of the event. Undaunted, the Moores persisted and joined the seven strong Irish team, which included Olympian Russell White.

“We had nothing to lose,” recalled Charlotte of the rationale behind going ahead with the Portuguese adventure. “We would just gain the experience, see what it was all about and if we enjoyed it and if we would go further with it next year.

“We knew there were going to be world class athletes at the peak of their sport – and those athletes have probably been racing three or four years abroad at other European and World races – this was our first one. So we went in to get an understanding of race-craft.”

The 17-year-olds’ mission was accomplished, as Olivia explains: “We learned so much over there from the experience, and the whole set up of the World Triathlon, racing abroad with different competitors.”

To illustrate their learning curve, Olivia explains that in Ireland there’s a ‘no draft’ rule where cyclists must keep a certain distance from a cyclist in front so they don’t benefit from the slipstream. That’s not the case in international events.

“Over there it was draft legal so we were able to cycle right up tight in a group, so that was a good experience,” Olivia says.

Asked in which discipline she performed best, Olivia replies: “Probably the cycle because I got out of the water and was able to stay with the group on the bike, so that was a whole new experience of cycling in a group, learning different tactics.”

Charlotte also opts for the cycle as her best discipline that day.

“I was able to stick with the group, I know coming to the end I drifted off the back of the group but I was confident I was up with those athletes, and trying to keep up with them was a good experience.”

She was also pleased with her transitions between disciplines. “I was very happy with like my mounts and dismounts, so like jumping on and jumping off the bike.”

The Moore sisters’ trainer Matt Molloy believes the Portuguese adventure will stand to them.

“It was a massive experience for them to go over and do that. They did a remarkable job, to go over there and complete the race in those circumstances.”

The experience of representing Ireland topped off an incredible year for the twins. Each won numerous individual sprint races, and in the Youth Series, Charlotte came first overall with Olivia claiming second overall. While Matt says their talent is there for all to see, he is eager for them to remain grounded.

“They are in development. From a global standard there would be some athletes their age who would be quite a bit ahead of them in development terms. And not all the people who are at the top of their game as Junior make it through to Elite.

“We wouldn’t be big on pushing Junior or Youth athletes to their absolute limit at this point; I’ve just found that can burn them out too early. They’ve quite a lot of development still to do in all three sports, so it’s the next year or two that’s going to tell an awful lot. But they certainly have the potential to race as adult elites for Ireland, there’s no doubt about that.”

The Moores agree that the next two years are crucial.

“The aim is to try to get as far as possible on the World Series and on the world rankings to try and get to as many races abroad - European races, World races and see if we can move up the rankings” says Charlotte. “From going to the race in Portugal we now know what we have to do, and what we have to aim towards.”

Can they make up the gap between themselves and the top triathletes?

“I definitely think so,” says Olivia.

The the Moore family are grateful to Matt Molloy for his commitment to their training regime.

“The girls work very closely with Matt,” says their mum Georgina. “They would see him once a week and he sets their programme which they follow via Training Peaks [app] on their watch. It’s all heart rate monitored so, even though he hasn’t got his eyes on them, he knows by their heart rate how much they’re working or not working, or what they should be doing.”

Matt has no fear the sisters aren’t putting the work in.

“It’s pure enjoyment for them,” Matt happily reports. “There’s never too much in the week for them. They love pushing themselves - they love training on top of the racing element. It’s definitely not a slog for them at all, it’s just ‘give me more’ is the attitude with them all the time.”

The sisters have two brothers, James (18) and William (12), with parents Edward and Georgina capping off the Kilmore family. The twins are in Fifth Year in The Royal and the family are very appreciative of how the school accommodates them to maximise their training schedule without impacting on their academic studies.

“The girls couldn’t have attended Quarteira without the support of the school. They have been behind them 100%,” says Georgina.

When it comes to support Georgina explains that Clarkes of Cavan have also been amazing. Charlotte broke her bike in a crash during a race mid-season. Clarkes built a bike to the high spec needed for Charlotte to compete.

The Celt notes that being best friends, twin sisters, rivals, and supporters - it must be a complex set of relationships to navigate.

“It works well,” counters Olivia, “we push each other on in training and in racing and because there isn’t any training groups around us. It’s always two of us who are fighting for the top position, so it’s a good rivalry and competition.”

What’s next on the horizon?

“For the moment we’re on a recovery few weeks and then we hit the winter training and do a solid block of training and then hopefully come New Year we’ll have a series of races in Europe, and get some more experience under our belts racing in different countries and at a higher level,” says Charlotte.

Looking beyond the horizon, the sisters admit the Olympics are amongst their targets.

“For the Olympics, it’s a standard distance,” says Charlotte. “That’s a 1.5km swim, 40K cycle, and a 10k run. And at the moment because of our age, we can’t do that distance, yet. But whenever we turn 18 we will be able to do that longer distance and then we’ll see if it suits us then.”

As Paris 2024 will arrive a little soon for them, so if they permit themselves to dream, it is of the LA Olympics in 2028.