Australia’s top junior triathletes came from all over the country (and New Zealand) to compete at the 2018 Super Sprint Race Weekend at Runaway Bay, to compete in one of the toughest race experiences they will endure throughout their career. Four days of back-to-back racing with points on the line in every event is both mentally and physically a huge challenge. The Super Sprint Race Weekend was the opening round of the 2018-2019 Australian Junior and Youth Triathlon Series at Runaway Bay. With weather conditions that swung between hot and humid and wet and windy, it provided a brutal environment for us to test our future champions.
The blockbuster race schedule tested the 260 youngsters in the Youth (A & B) and Junior categories who battled through five and six rounds of sprint triathlons, a 1500m run and aquathlon and the mixed team relays, which for the first time also provided points for the overall individual podium places.
Two common themes, ‘fun’ and ‘learning’ were shared around at this year’s event to remind athletes not to take the weekend too seriously. One NSW coach reminded a female athlete after her race that, “we’re here to make mistakes - that’s how we learn”. The event format is great for athlete development, providing a great challenge for coaches to balance the right combination of performance and recovery, while ensuring it’s an enjoyable experience for everyone.
There were fantastic displays of resilience and sportsmanship throughout the weekend, with athletes pushing through the fatigue to finish each race with a smile on their face. We also shared great stories of our athlete community supporting Olivia Busby, who broke her wrist in the first event and Sebastian Wingad who had a stack in the final race and consequently missed out on a podium finish. It was incredible to witness the sportsmanship from all athletes as they congratulated one another after the finish of their race.
This year’s event incorporated a live stream, and we are pleased to have received a large amount of positive feedback and nearly 12,000 views. Thank you to Paul Harradine and Jesse Mortensen for their fantastic commentary, as well as Joel Murray who was our race day commentator. The stream was a huge success and we will be looking to improve this delivery in the future.
Results were tight with only seconds and points separating those finishing at the top of the overall leader board. Youth A Male podium finishers were separated by three and a half points with Jackson Medway (Be Energetic Tri & Run Club) placing second with 130.5 points and Darcy Williams (Victoria) placing third with 127. Jack Crome from Be Energetic was a well deserved winner in that category and was “absolutely stoked” to take the win.
Host state Queensland took an outstanding clean sweep in the Youth B finals taking out all three podium spots with Peyton Craig from Sunshine Coast Tri Academy and Tamsyn Hill from Be Energetic Tri & Run Club taking the top spots. In second was Ethan Close (Redcliffe Triathlon Club) and Leah Dargan (Red Dog Triathlon Training) joining Douglas Chapman (Be Energetic Tri & Run Club) and Kate Collins (Genesis Triathlon Club) who earned bronze medals.
Junior Male winner Lachlan Jones (Bond University Triathlon Club) paced himself and held back a fraction in each race, to save himself for the final, where we witnessed him win by just 10 metres. He will be focusing on the next two rounds of the Australian Junior Series, but being selected for Worlds is his goal. Oscar Dart finished second behind Jones, ahead of Luke Harvey (Sharks Triathlon Club) who spoke about the new cycle course, “I really like the extra turns this year to mix it up a bit.” The extra chicanes and u-turns throughout the cycle course provided a more technical race, which improved our athletes' skills leading in to the rest of the Series.
Congratulations to all athletes who competed over the weekend, their coaches for their hard work and thank you to everyone who travelled to the event. Thank you to Team T-Rex for providing a fantastic team of volunteers as well! We look forward to seeing you back at the Super Sprint Race Weekend in 2019.
Congratulations to the following podium finishers:
Junior Male
1st – Lachlan Jones (QLD) 232.50
2nd - Oscar Dart (VIC) 223.50
3rd – Luke Harvey (QLD) 190.50
Junior Female
1st – Emily Jamgotchian (NSW) 200.50
2nd - Chloe McLennan (QLD) 195.50
3rd – Brea Roderick (NZL) 189.50
Youth A Male
1st – Jack Crome (QLD) 171
2nd – Jackson Medway (QLD) 130.50
3rd – Darcy Williams (VIC) 127
Youth A Female
1st – Tara Sosinski (QLD) 211.50
2nd – Chloe Bateup (ACT) 164.50
3rd – Charlotte Thompson (WA) 133
Youth B Male
1st - Peyton Craig (QLD) 202.50
2nd - Ethan Close (QLD) 174
3rd - Douglas Chapman (QLD) 125
Youth B Female
1st – Tamsyn Hill (QLD) 186
2nd – Leah Dargan (QLD) 181.50
3rd – Kate Collins (QLD) 151.50
