Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales cleaned up at the second round of the Australian Youth and Junior Triathlon Series in Devonport, dominating the podiums across the weekend.

Hosting the Australian Junior and Youth Sprint Championships as well as the Australian Junior Mixed Relay Championships, the event saw nearly 100 of youth and junior athletes travel to Devonport from across the Oceania region.

South Australia’s Charlotte Derbyshire put together an outstanding performance across all three legs to successfully defend her Australian Junior Championship title.

Sitting with leaders Chloe Bateup, Tara Sosinski, and Brea Roderick (NZL) right through the swim and bike, it all came down to the run for Derbyshire. Despite exiting T2 slightly off the back, Derbyshire ran down the leaders to secure a confident win, with ACT’S Bateup and Queensland’s Sosinski rounding out the podium in 2nd and 3rd. 

Speaking to Triathlon Australia, Derbyshire said that she was absolutely thrilled with the result.

“It feels amazing, one of the best feelings I reckon,” Derbyshire said.

“I’ve worked really hard from [Runaway Bay] to now so I’m really happy that the work has paid off.”

“[Up next] I’ve got the Oceania Champs in New Plymouth, which is at the end of March so still building up to that.”

In the Australian Junior Male Championship, New South Wales’ Josh Ferris found himself caught in a footrace with New Zealand’s Dylan McCullough and Western Australia’s Adam White, sprinting home to take second and the overall Australian title behind the visitor.

Finding a strong group of five out of the swim, Ferris and White worked hard to chase down the Kiwi who had gapped the field out of the water. Reeling McCullough back in on the second lap of the bike, Ferris and White prepared to make their break out of T2. Pulling away from the rest of the pack off the bike, it all came down to the run with McCullough edging away to take the overall win, and Ferris the Australian Junior Championship. Adam White and Matthew Moate completed the podium with 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

In the Australian Youth Female Championships, Aspen Anderson, Sophia McCarthy and Mia Woolridge gave Queensland a clean sweep of the podium. Despite chasing Tasmania’s Ebony Rainbow out of the water, Anderson and McCarthy put together a flawless bike leg to chase her down and establish a sizeable lead out of T2. A skilled runner, Anderson wasted no time dropping McCarthy on the run to sprint home and secure the Australian Youth Female title.

While in the Australian Youth Male Championships. Queensland's Sebastian Wingad dominated from start to finish to claim the overall Australian Youth title. Producing three outstanding legs, Wingad put together a quality performance to take out the title in a commanding fashion, ahead of Ethan Close and Joshua Neervort.

Round two of the Australian Youth and Junior Series also played host to the Australian Junior Mixed Relay Championships with West Australia 1 taking an assertive win.

Chasing leaders New South Wales 1, Central North Island New Zealand and Queensland Team Snowsill for the bulk of the race, the West Australians waited until the third leg to make their move, with a pivotal performance from Adam White pulling them into the lead at the final change. Not prepared to give up, New South Wales 1 fought hard on the bike to pull themselves back into title contention. However, West Australia 1 were too strong, sprinting away late in the race to claim the Australian Junior Mixed Relay title ahead of New South Wales 1 in 2nd and Queensland Team Snowsill in 3rd. 

The Australian Youth & Junior Triathlon Series now heads to New Plymouth with Junior athletes contesting 2020 New Plymouth OTU Oceania Junior Sprint Championships.

2020 Australian Youth & Junior Triathlon Series
Full results

Australian Junior Girls Championship
1st – Charlotte Derbyshire
2nd – Chloe Bateup
3rd – Tara Sosinski

Australian Junior Boys Championship
1st – Josh Ferris
2nd  - Adam White
3rd – Matthew Moate

Australian Youth Girls Championships
1st – Aspen Anderson
2nd – Sophia Mccarthy
3rd – Mia Woolridge

Australian Youth Boys Championship
1st – Sebastian Wingad
2nd – Ethan Close
3rd – Joshua Neervoort

Australian Junior Mixed Relay Championship
1st – West Australia 1
2nd – New South Wales 1
3rd – Queensland Team Snowsill