Race one of the TWA State Championship Series kicked off this weekend with the City of Armadale Duathlon hosted by TriEvents. The race also doubled as the Triathlon Australia National Age Group Championships. The racing across the age groups and the open competitors did not disappoint with National Titles, State Titles and valuable Triathlete of the Year points up for grabs.
With State Championships on the line for the Open Category Athletes it was great to see so many toeing the start line. Renee Baker was a late inclusion in the women’s field which also consisted of defending Champion Katey Gibb, Alise Farrelly, Rosie Farrell and junior athlete Tegan Scott.
As the race started Gibb took off at a speed the other women were not able to match. The first 5km run took Gibb just 17:10 to complete giving her a lead of 1:20 over Baker and another 55sec back to third place Alise Farrelly.
Baker being the strong cyclist she is was able to halve the time difference between herself and Gibb by the end of the 20km bike. Light winds, which was a pleasant change for Champion Lakes, meant the athletes had to push hard for the entire bike leg. Farrelly, missing having the swim portion of the event also made up a few seconds during the bike leg. Gibb hit T2 with a 40sec lead and this was surely all she needed to defend her title.
With Gibb’s second run leg taking 8:48 the title was all hers just sneaking under the 1 hour with a total race time of 59:58. In a post-race interview Gibb was delighted with her race today and said “it’s a 2 min PB on last year”.
Baker finished in second place in a time of 1:01:21 and Alise Farrelly rounded out the podium in 1:04:36.
The men’s field was one of the largest seen at the Duathlon over the last few years. It was always going to be a case of who can stick with Thomas Bruins on the bike and who had the legs to run with him for the last 2.5km. Just like the women’s race they went out hard on the first 5km run. Bruins had Chris Owens as company coming into T1. Bruins, the seasoned Duathlete completed the first run in 15:40 with Owens right on his shoulder. The junior men were just behind with Swift at 15:44 and McCoach hitting T1 in 15:48. 2014/15 Triathlete of the Year and veteran of the sport Paul Mackay was less than the minute back but was one to watch on the bike.
As expected, Bruins biked away from Owens, Swift and McCoach but Oli Stenning was able to make up some time with the fastest cycle of the day 29:03. Mackay made a move up the field showing his strength on the bike closing the gap to the lead men.
The second run was hotly contested with the top 8 men all running within a minute of each other. Bruins had put the hard work in at the start and was able to stay away from the fast closing field to finish in a time of 54:46. Stenning who made a big move on the bike finished in 55:43 and Brandon Swift the 2014 Duathlon State Champion was third in 56:24.
Congratulations to the top 5 place getters in the Open Category
MALES:
• Thomas BRUINS 54:46.13
• Oli STENNING 55:43.62
• Brandon SWIFT 56:24.22
• Paul MACKAY 56:44.02
• Liam MCCOACH 56:59.42
FEMALES:
• Katey GIBB 00:59:58.47
• Renee BAKER 01:01:21.66
• Alise FARRELLY 01:04:36.22
• Rosie FARRELL 01:06:25.91
• Tegan SCOTT 01:07:42.67
The age-group racing was also of outstandingquality. There seems to have been a lot of training happening over winter with some blistering times posted. Brett Johnson from Mandurah in the 30-34 category had the third fastest overall time of the day with a 56:15. Matt Duncan from Bunbury took the win in the 20-24 field in 58:07. Kate Vernon from Stadium Tri Club was the fastest age group female and the third fastest time overall with a 1:04:23.
Congratulations to all of the State and National Champions at the event.
NAME |
TIME |
AGE GROUP |
NAME |
TIME |
AGE GROUP |
Kate VERNON |
01:04:23.22 |
20-24 |
Matt DUNCAN |
00:58:07.96 |
20-24 |
Claire BADENHORST |
01:05:59.92 |
25-29 |
David BRYANT |
00:58:36.92 |
25-29 |
Bree TREWIN |
01:07:16.30 |
30-34 |
Brett JOHNSON |
00:56:15.98 |
30-34 |
Claire HAWKINS |
01:06:24.93 |
35-39 |
Bernie STREETER |
00:58:43.29 |
35-39 |
Emma LEONARD |
01:07:05.96 |
40-44 |
Stuart DURHAM |
01:00:20.81 |
40-44 |
Elizabeth SINCLAIR |
01:09:24.21 |
45-49 |
Alistair PRESS |
00:58:27.08 |
45-49 |
Janet FERGUSON |
01:04:55.46 |
50-54 |
David CANE |
01:01:22.97 |
50-54 |
Deb KEMPE |
01:11:11.45 |
55-59 |
Steve WARE |
01:02:00.21 |
55-59 |
Glenda KIRKBY |
01:19:57.33 |
60-64 |
John HAWKINS |
01:08:44.65 |
60-64 |
|
|
|
Robert SCOTT * |
01:18:20.04 |
65-69 |
|
|
|
Chris LIMB * |
01:14:28.20 |
70-74 |
|
|
|
Steve BARRIE |
01:48:51.98 |
80+ |
Claire MCLEAN |
01:10:53.46 |
Claire MCLEAN |
Nige YOUNG |
01:16:05.61 |
Para Triathlon |
*State champion only
Congratulations to the 65-69 male National Champion David BAUSSMANN (ACT) and Ken MURLEY 70-74 (VIC).
Special thanks to the team from TriEvents who put on another great event this year. If you are looking for your next challenge make sure you check out the Triathlon WA season calendar.
The WA State Championship Series heads to Hillarys for race two. The State Sprint Championships will take place on Sunday 13th December at the SunSmart Triathlon Series Race 1 – Hillarys. Enter today: http://www.triserieswa.com.au/
http://bluechipresults.com.au/results.aspx?CId=11&RId=764
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