No rest for Jacob and Jazzie after landing SCODY series honours

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March 10, 2013

There will be no rest for budding Australian junior triathlon champions Jaz Hedgeland and Jacob Birtwhistle after wrapping up the Scody Australian Junior Triathlon Series in Wellington on Saturday.

Hedgeland, 18, who finished second to former ITU World Junior Champion, Mikayla Nielsen (NZL) on Saturday to wrap up her successful defence of the Series, will make her Olympic distance debut in the Continental Cup at Mooloolaba this weekend.

Birtwhistle, the 18-year-old from Launceston continued his break through year in triathlon, adding victory in the OTU Oceania Junior Championship to his growing list of titles to wrap up the Scody pointscore.

He has been virtually unstoppable all season and  at the end of the week the multi-talented Birtwhistle will head off to Bydgoszcz (POL) as part of the 19-strong Athletics Australia team for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships on Sunday March 24, 2013.

Birtwhistle, under coach Kim Gillard, is one of six junior boys who will race over the eight-kilometre course and join the likes of Victorian pair, two-time Olympian Collis Birmingham (Vic) and three-time Australian cross-country championship medallist Liam Adams (Vic) in Australia’s largest World Cross Country team since 2008.

It will cap off what has been an impressive three months and one that will likely land Birtwhistle a place in his second Australian team of the year for the ITU Junior World Triathlon Championships in London in September.

Dual international status for a young man who along with fellow youngsters Luke Willian, Matt Baker, Joel Tobin-White and Christian Wilson are among an exciting group of young Australian boys.

Between December and March, Birtwhistle has:

• Won the Super Sprint weekend at Runaway Bay.
• Finished second to fellow emerging star Luke Willian in round two of the Scody Series at Penrith in oppressive conditions.
• Overcame the searing Penrith heat again to add his name to the Australian Youth Olympic Festival gold medal list and spearheading Australia to victory in the Teams event.
• Stormed home to finish fifth in open company at the Geelong Australian Sprint Championships – the first Under 23/Under 19 athlete.
• Showed all his class in front of his home town crowd to win the OTU Australian Junior Championship crown with another eye-catching run and;
• Wrapped up an impressive season on Saturday and the Scody Series when he out-paced Willian in the closing stages  in Wellington to win the OTU Oceania Junior title, adding;
• The Trans Tasman Teams Challenge with Tobin-White, Ben Anderson and Nick McQuire in the combined Tas/Vic team.

For Western Australia’s Jaz Hedgeland, who took the backend of 2012 off to concentrate on her Year 12 studies, she has comeback with a vengeance and with almost similar results to Birtwhistle, Hedgeland:

• Finished fifth in the Super Sprint at Runaway Bay in her comeback to the sport off three weeks training.
• Claimed Second to Jodie Duff in round two of the Scody Series at Penrith before;
• Won gold in an impressive performance back at Penrith to win the AYOF title and like Birtwhistle was part of the Australian team that won gold in the Relay.
• Turned the tables on ITU World Jnr Champion Mikayla Nielsen to defend her Australian Jnr Championship in Devonport before;
• Finishing second after Nielsen produced a superior run to win the OTU Oceania title in Wellington on Saturday.

Triathlon Australia’s National Manager – Athlete Development, Craig Redman said it was the culmination of a busy three months for Australia’s next generation.

“Jacob and Jaz were exceptional. They were consistent from the opening event and while it took time for Jaz to run into her fitness, by the major events she was a standout and for both these athletes to peak and win the AYOF gold medals in individual and teams, shows just how good they really are,” said Redman.

“They lapped that up and have been on the money in every race since and it is exciting to see the calibre of these guys and a host of other ‘junior burgers” coming along in leaps and bounds.

“It was good to see Joel Tobin-White come back so well after recovering from his broken collarbone suffered during the Super Sprint weekend three months ago.

“Looking at the talent we have unearthed over the last 12 months, some who have progressed into the National Talent Academy, Australia will field some very talented teams at this year’s ITU World Championships in London in September.”

OTU Ocean Triathlon Championships, Wellington - U19s (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)

Women
1 Mikayla Nielsen (NZL) 1:04:56
2 Jaz Hedgeland  (AUS) 1:06:15
3 Jaimee Leader (NZL) 1:06:24
4 Nicole van Der Kaay(NZL) 1:06:39
5 Holly Grice (AUS) 1:06.47

Men
1 Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 58:46
2 Luke Willian (AUS) 58:49
3 Joel Tobin White (AUS)  59:26
4 Matt Baker (AUS) 59.42
5 Daniel Coleman (AUS) 59.45

AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR TRIATHLON HONOUR ROLL>>

Winners Trans Tasman Teams Challenge
Men: Vic/Tas Combined (Jake Birtwhistle, Joel Tobin-White, Ben Anderson, Nick McQuire)
Women: New Zealand (Mikayla Nielsen, Nicole Van Der Kaay, Elise Salt)