IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
On a perfect day with light winds and some of the mildest temperatures in the 40-year history of the IRONMAN World Championship, our two hard-working lads took to the Kona course to compete with the world’s best of the best in what’s described as the toughest one-day event going around. They both raced smart, pushed hard and achieved outstanding results.
Nathan Sims: Time 09:53:00 | Position 104 | Swim 01:11:00 | Bike 04:52:31 | Run 03:40:10
Gary Rosengarten: Time 12:26:18 | Position 41| Swim 01:16:58| Bike 06:19:110| Run 4:32:56
Kona is a magical experience, and one that has to be seen to be believed. There is nothing quite as special, as prestigious or as awe inspiring as the Ironman juggernaut that comes to the Big Island each year. Let’s hear a brief reflection from our athletes themselves.
NATHAN:
“What a day. So pumped to get under my goal time of 10 hours. Although probably wasn’t the way I planned it to happen. Swim was bang on target. The winds on the bike were super favorable and had cloud cover from Waikoloa Beach and a bit of rain, so made a call to push hard and take advantage of it. Downside was when I got back to Kona it was stinking hot (surprise?!?) and the run became a real mental battle from the 1 km mark. Maybe 5 minutes too fast on the bike… Still, only walked aid stations as I had too much invested to take the soft option. Relieved, satisfied and stuffed now ?. Thanks for all the well wishes. Trialliance Athletes – it’s been great training with you all. Time to join Narelle Crooks and Mitchell Sims on holiday now ?.”
GARY:
“We did it! Yes WE, because to do this thing is not a solo effort. So many people to thank, so humbled by the messages and support you’ve all given me! Firstly and most importantly Maria without whom this just wouldn’t have happened, the whole thing, the years of work that went into this! I won’t dwell on it but there’s a few special people out there who helped so much, I won’t single them out, but… We’ll you guys know who you are and we’ll catch up! To Ollie Allan I always told you I would be your greatest challenge:) But you worked me out, and wouldn’t give up on me! I am a complex individual and yet you were able to outsmart me and get the best out of me!!! I know in the end it was me out there, but you gave me the ability to get the job done! Thanks !! To Michelle Bond goes without saying part of thanking Ollie is thanking you too! You’ve been kind of my role model in this thing, I found myself thinking “what would Michelle do here?” Many times! To Steph Anderson my shoulder to cry on, my confidante, my inspiration, my mentor and friend! Wow what we’ve been through in the last few months, thanks!! To Jeremy Robinson ahh Jezz you took up the slack when everyone else was away! What fun we had on those rides? Thanks to everyone I’ll try and catch up with you all, right now every part of body hurts but I wouldn’t have it any other way!”
MELBOURNE MARATHON FESTIVAL
The 2018 festival set a new record for the 41 year-long history, with 34,734 participants across the five distances – the highest figure yet; including a sell-out event for the SriLankan Airlines Half Marathon and the ASICS 10km Run. We had several athletes running across all distances, in what turned out to be warmer than expected conditions. Congrats to everyone that took part (even those not featured in our list who ran for fun, ran anonymously or ran as a guide for a blind athlete) – it was great to be out there watching you all enjoying the course!
| ATHLETE | TIME | AG POSITION | GENDER POSITION |
| MARATHON | |||
| Raphael Labyre | 2:52:42 | 30-34 (27) | Male (92) |
| Mario Staffieri | 3:14:08 | 50-54 (17) | Male (340) |
| Xu (Sebastien) Chen | 3:25:54 | 30-34 (121) | Male (576) |
| Andy Wood-Rich | 3:48:00 | 45-49 (172) | Male (1292) |
| Carly Hart | 4:41:00 | 25-29 (176) | Female (991) |
| Michelle Paton | 5:38:15 | 40-44 (280) | Female (1593) |
| HALF MARATHON | |||
| Hannah Jones | 1:30:34 | 30-34 (6) | Female (23) |
| Rachel Madden | 1:46:47 | 30-34 (45) | Female (219) |
| Peter Chrysostomou | 1:51:38 | 35-39 (219) | Male (1435) |
| Eduardo Oliveira | 1:53:15 | 35-39 (242) | Male (1581) |
| Tim Watts | 1:53:16 | 45-49 (152) | Male (1584) |
| Liz Ryan | 2:04:59 | 25-29 (266) | Female (1103) |
| Megan Smith | 2:23:54 | 45-49 (272) | Female (2632) |
| 10KM | |||
| Donna Sullivan | 0:59:28 | 30-34 (182) | Female (1068) |
| Denise Houlihan | 1:00:42 | 30-34 (223) | Female (1258) |
| Eliza Rugg | 01:03:09 | 25-29 (359) | Female (1624) |
| Janine O’Grady | 1:08:02 | 40-44 (275) | Female (2341) |
| Rachel Mycroft | 1:13:51 | 55-59 (113) | Female (3073) |
NATIONAL DUATHLON CHAMPIONSHIP
Sunday morning was a fantastic morning for racing at the 2018 Australian National Championships at Yarra Boulevard! The weather turned it on and we hear so did the competitors with some exciting racing. We had a handful of athletes competing, and a few more who had to withdraw due to injury and illness. Congrats to those who raced the fast and furious event.
| SPRINT CHAMPIONSHIP | |||||
| ATHLETE | TIME | RUN | RIDE | RUN | POSITION |
| Sheridan BROWN | 1:20:21 | 0:24:57 | 0:38:27 | 0:15:05 | 4th AG |
| Monty COOPER | 1:24:57 | 0:24:13 | 0:42:25 | 0:16:06 | 3rd MULTICLASS |
| Chloe TURNER | 1:27:08 | 0:24:14 | 0:46:34 | 0:15:18 | 1st MULTICLASS |
| DASH CHAMPIONSHIP | |||||
| Lara BURNS | 0:39:12 | 6th OPEN | |||
COOLANGATTA GOLD
The Coolangatta Gold is one of the most challenging endurance races in surf sports. In 2018 it was held over the weekend of 6-7 October. In another record year that saw over 800 competitors compete over the weekend, Surfer’s Paradise ironman Ali Day achieved a record-breaking sixth title and Northcliffe’s Georgia Miller claimed her maiden title. But what you may not know, is that our very own Caroline ‘Caro’ Webster, made it on to the podium too!!! Congrats Caro on your 2nd place in the 50+ Masters Female event, and for beating over half the field!
