Jervis Bay Triathlon Club has rounded off its most successful season yet with a fiercely contested Endura format race at Iluka in Booderee National Park.
A wet weekend kept numbers down, but competitors provided a gripping see-sawing race between the old and new guard. Junior, Mitchell Brown, eventually took line honours after holding off stiff competition from veteran Jon Schol and fellow junior, Trent Goodman.
The race kicked off with a 300 metre swim which saw Brown surge out of the water ahead of the main pack. Schol was first back from the 8km bike ride, but Brown managed to edge past him on the 3km run before plunging back into the water to repeat all three stages again.
Schol put in another strong effort to lead off the bike, but Brown’s run proved superior. He finished in 1:02:25 with Schol second in 1:03:03 and Goodman a valiant third in 1:04:20.
In the short course event, which consisted of one lap of the course, line honours went to newcomer Matt Lewis who finished in 36:36. Pete Dooley drew on his running form to finish second in 37:07 while Bruce Presland was third in 38:30.
Kylie Stewart was the first female finisher in 41:53 followed by Alex Organ in 54:26.
Club president, Adam Coulton, said there were some strong performances despite many club members taking a well-earned break at the end of a busy season.
Four club members competed at the previous week’s inaugural Dextro Energy Age Group Triathlon in Sydney where they got a chance to swim in the harbour and cycle across the Harbour Bridge in a field of more than 2000 competitors.
Dave Edwards was the fastest of the local competitors finishing the Olympic distance race of 1500m swim/40km bike/10km run in 2:24:05 while Tony Lim was the highest placed local – finishing eighth in the 60-64 males in a personal best of 2:41:18. Michelle Perry also recorded a personal best to finish in 2:58:59 while Mark Stewart put in a strong performance to finish in 2:32:16.
Despite the course being hillier and more challenging than expected, all said it was a fantastic race and one not to be missed next year.
Coulton said the season had been a spectacular one for the Bay with several athletes also taking honours in the Elite Engery Tri Series. Katie Winkworth, Bill Stahlhut and Marcus Vowels were all series winners in their age groups with Tim O’Connell, Kylie Stewart and Emily Bevan taking second. Series winners will be presented with their prizes next month at the NSW Club Championships in Forster.
With the days getting colder, Coulton said the club would kick off its winter duathlon season next month at Iluka. The first race will be held on May 15 and will offer both a short and long course. Coulton said beginners and regular competitors were welcome.