NTA athletes shine in Tahiti

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September 19, 2012

2012 Tahiti ITU Sprint Triathlon Oceania Cup
16 September 2012

Three NTA members, Marcel Walkington (VIC), Joel Tobin White (VIC) and Jacob Birtwhistle (TAS) travelled to Tahiti to compete in the first Oceania Cup event to be held outside Australia or NZ.  The Tahitian Triathlon Federation was very excited to host the race and went out of their way to ensure that all athletes were well looked after. They did a fantastic job with all logistics and put on a flawless race at an amazing venue.

Despite the beauty of the surroundings, it was tough racing conditions for the young Australian’s coming from a cold winter straight into 28-30 degree temperatures with 90% humidity.  Despite this, the three athletes all raced exceptionally well.

The men’s race had a small field of 9 starters, made up of our 3 Australians, 5 New Zealand athletes and local veteran Frederic Tete.

Marcel got away to a flying start and by the end of the swim had built a lead of 30 seconds over a pack of five athletes, including Jacob and Joel, who did very well to stay with some strong New Zealand swimmers.

On the bike, Walkington (or Marcel le Magnifique as the locals dubbed him) built on his lead with each of the 4 bike laps and exited T2 with a 45 second advantage over the 5 man chase pack.

The chase pack exited T2 tightly packed and unfortunately Tobin White tripped at the narrow exit and fell heavily on his recently broken wrist.  In a great deal of pain initially, he tried to run on but stopped for around 1 minute to assess the damage.  Once he realised he had not re-broken the bone he was able to re-join the race and as the pain slowly subsided he was able to pick up his pace and went on to run very well and finish in 6th place.

Meanwhile up the road, Birtwhislte was running brilliantly, with Sam Ward from NZ close behind and by the end of the 2nd k was within striking distance of Walkington. The heat had taken its toll on all the athletes, but after his tough solo ride, Marcel probably struggled the most on the run and as a result Ward and Birtwhistle flew past him by the midpoint of the race.

Birtwhistle continue to build his pace through the race and with 1k to go cleared away from Ward, and in the end proved way too strong winning by over 30 seconds.  It was an exceptional result from such a young athlete, as he raced well from the start and controlled the run perfectly in very tough conditions.  At only 17, Jake (or Le Gazelle, as he was dubbed) certainly has a very bright future in the sport.

Marcel got stronger toward the back end of the run and did well to hold off Tete for 3rd spot.  Both he and Joel will represent Australia at the upcoming World Champs in Auckland and this race was a great hit out for them both.  They also had the chance to visit the Auckland race venue and see first-hand the hilly, technical bike course, which will no doubt give them a massive advantage in their last few weeks of training.

Lauren Parker was the other Australian athlete at the race and she also raced well. Lauren held the lead throughout the swim and worked well on the bike with 3 NZ girls.  Although she was unable to go with the young New Zealanders, she pushed hard on the run throughout to hold on to 4th place. 

Elite Men
1. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS)
2. Sam Ward (NZL)
3. Marcel Walkington (AUS)
4. Frederic Tete (TAH)
5. Mike Phillips (NZL)

Elite Women
1. Sophie Corbidge (NZL)
2. Mikayla Nielsen (NZL)
3. Laura Wood (NZL)
4. Lauren Parker (Australia)
5. Elise Salt (NZL)

For more event info, click here>>