2XU RACE #4 - ELWOOD
Back home and what a cracking day Race 4 of the 2XU Triathlon Series proved to be! Apparently, it’s 4th time lucky when it comes to the weather, with Melbourne turning on absolutely perfect conditions for the race at Elwood. On the calendar of ITU World Championship Qualifying events for the sprint distance, athletes from across the country descended on Elwood with all age groups racing thick and fast.
As always, we had big numbers of blue and yellow out on course including an impressive number of first timers from our recent Try the Tri program. Calm blue waters…filled with jellyfish (!!!) made for an interesting swim but everyone got the job done with most feeling very brave to have survived the infestation! The bike, whilst congested, was fast for those that found their rhythm with little wind to get in the way of a good ride. Things started to get warm on the run, particularly for those at the latter part of the day. There were PBs all over the place, athletes kicking goals after battling injury and so much support for athletes throughout the course, all under blue skies and sunshine!
We are so proud of everyone who crossed the finish line and held their own amongst the biggest and fastest race of the season so far. Getting out there was an achievement in itself and everyone should take the time to reflect on their individual results and be proud of their achievements.
A special shout out to all athletes who made the top 10 in their age group:
Sophie Perry – Sprint – 1st AG
Chloe Turner – Sprint – 1st Multiclass
Monty Cooper – Sprint – 1st Multiclass
Sue Burns – Fun – 1st AG
Tri Alliance Coaches – Sprint – 1st Team
Henny Hamilton – Fun – 2nd AG
Riley Burns – Fun – 3rd AG
Jeremy Robinson – Sprint – 4th First Timer
Samantha Woodland – Sprint – 5th AG
Barry Gilbertson – Sprint – 5th AG
Stephen Bond – Sprint – 5th AG
Nichola Muser – Fun – 5th AG
Krista Mogensen – Fun – 5th AG
Angela Mohr – Sprint – 6th Athena
Slaine O’Sullivan – Sprint – 7th AG
Aaron Mitchelson – Sprint – 7th First Timer
Zena Burgess – Fun – 7th AG
Lara Burns – Fun – 8th AG
Jennifer Forlonge – Fun – 8th AG
Stephanie Anderson – Sprint – 10th AG
Les Jordan – Fun – 10th AG
Sally Nathan – Fun – 10th AG
Special mention also goes to Stephen Peck, who absolutely blitzed his run, breaking 19mins for 5km with a time of 18:25.4. What a machine!
CANBERRA TRIATHLON FESTIVAL
It was a busy weekend of racing with athletes out and about in both Melbourne and Canberra. Sheridan Brown and Simone Cranage made the trip north for the Canberra Triathlon Festival, an ITU World Championship Qualifying race for the standard distance. Despite a few technical issues, Simone came away with a 9th place, and Sheridan with 22nd in her fourth race in just 3 weekends! We know it’s not easy travelling and racing away from the TA crew but congratulate them both and wish them well as they continue their quest for points in the remaining races of the season. Ginger Krentz also made the trip up to Canberra as number #1 supporter for Simone and decided on the day to have a go in the sprint race, finishing 7th in her AG. What a great effort!
AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR TRIATHLON SERIES
Tegan headed across the border over the weekend for Round #2 of the Australian Junior Triathlon Series. The series provides competition opportunities for high performance athletes across the country (selected to represent their State) and ensures a continuous pathway for what Triathlon Australia say are one of the most exciting groups of juniors and under 23s Australia has seen. The weekend events included a sprint race on the Saturday (750m swim/19km cycle /5.2km run) and with Tegan finishing that as the second placed Victorian female, was also selected to toe the line in the Junior Mixed Relay Teams on the Sunday (200m swim/7km cycle/ 1.5km run). Now Teegs might tell you that her weekend away wasn’t the best (this young lady is very hard on herself), but we know she is coming away with new learnings, insight into herself as an athlete, some really strong positives to take away and an overall great learning experience for her future in triathlon. We are super proud of this young lady and love watching her journey and develop into a strong and determined athlete. Well done, Tegan!
