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Race Reports (Full race results are found on the results page ).Keep in Touch Don’t forget, if you have e-mail, and you haven’t given me your address, send me an email and I can send you results and stuff like this newsletter to keep you informed Sports MedicineThe club has received brochures from The NSW Institute of Sports medicine, situated at the Concord Repat Hospital, about their services, which include fitness and nutrition assessments apart from the usual medicine and physio services. The comprehensive fitness assessment includes Max VO2, strength and endurance, flexibility, lung function etc for $180. You can just check your max VO2 alone for $95 or lactates as well for $110. There is a 20% group discount for bookings of 4 or more. Phone them on 9767 7925. Appointments are required. Nowra TriAnimals Triathlon Wednesday 8th November 2000 The Nowra TriAnimals mid week triathlon was on again last Wednesday night with a starting field of eighteen competitors. The field was again divided into the Open and Flipper divisions, with the flipper division getting the start order 4 minutes before the chase group, who had to stand around in freezing conditions awaiting their start. There was a particularly strong current heading up river which caught a few of the swimmers by surprise, but everyone survived OK. The chase pack hit the water just as the last few flipper swimmers were getting out and into the swim/bike transition. A strong headwind greeted riders as they headed east to Terara and it was strong enough to slow some down to a dawdle. This certainly helped the stronger riders of the chase pack cut into the lead groups time in a big way. At the turn around, there was a few grateful sighs of relief as all the riders flew back home in front of a huge tailwind. Erin Scharfegger was first back off the bike, hotly pursued by David Foley, although David got the better transition and was able to lead onto the run leg. Next there was a flurry of activity as a bunch of the Open guys raced into transition, led by Dane Earsman, with Tim Adams and Robby Williams hot on his tail. James "Mega" Mottram was right up there as well. Further back we saw Scott Wallace and Paul Bromley both come in off a good ride and they were followed by the rest of the field in a nice tight bunch. Out on the run Tim and Robbie put the pace on and overtook the lead pair of Erin and David. Dane and Mega also just got by them before the finish line to claim 3rd and 4th. Erin ran strongly to regain the lead and cross the line first in her division. Mal Brown ran strongly to just claim second place from David. Given the tough conditions we have experienced it seems each competitor appreciated and applauded the effort that everyone put in. Now we are just looking forward to some of those balmy summer evenings where we can kick back after and enjoy a Barbie and a beer after the event. See you there again next week. Nowra TriAnimals Triathlon Wednesday 22nd November 2000 At last some really fine weather greeted the twenty or so competitors who lined up for last Wednesday’s mini-triathlon, after the event had to be cancelled the previous week owing to very unkind conditions including heaps of water over the road around Terara. The river is definitely warming up making conditions much more pleasant. Once again, the start was divided into two waves, with the open division giving away 5 minutes to the flipper division. Could the young guns, together with golden oldies Arnie and Evert make up the difference, seeing as they only just managed to do so two weeks previously when given a four minute handicap. An extra minute would surely be too much for them to make up and give the lead wave a very good chance of making it to the line first. I didn’t see the swim from my position as marshal at the Terara turn around, but by the time the first cyclist came through, it was Erin Scharfegger with a sizeable lead and looking very strong. Just behind was mum Christine (good on ya Chris). Dad Arnie was nowhere to be seen at this stage (but as usual he put in a mean bike leg to eat up most of the field by the time he got out onto the run). Traffic was fairly heavy on the night and quite a few riders had to slow and give way to cars. Then a bunch of the chase pack came through together and it was Robbie, Tim and Dane all together. Mega was back a little further, some twenty seconds or so. That was the last I saw of the action until getting back to the start, where I learned that Mal Brown had got up for a win, followed closely by Erin and Robbie. Michelle Krelle and Linda Weatherill did it next for the flipper division and they were followed by Tim Adams from the chase pac It was great to see a few new members coming along and having a go. Welcome to Meghan Sherman, Vickie Mathie and Roland Krelle, who all put in strong first up efforts on their mountain bikes. We hope you enjoyed your first event. Also good to see Haley Findlay and Courtney Ross back for another season. I’m sure these two girls will perform strongly in the weeks ahead. If the weather continues to be good to us, we would encourage you to throw some bread and sausages or steak into an esky and we will fire it up after the event. Finally, the Australian Sprint Distance Championships were held in Wollongong last weekend and the club was represented by Tim Adams, competing in the junior elite division and Dane Earsman, James Mottram and Robbie Williams, who all competed in the 15 year old age group. 29th November 2000
It’s great to see numbers are on the rise as evidenced by the excellent
turn out last Wednesday night for the mid-week triathlon. There was a minor
disruption to the start of the proceedings when it was discovered that neither
Brian nor Jamie were going to be coming along and bringing the trailer with
them. Thanks very much Dave Adams for going off to pick up the trailer so that
we could have an event. It was also great to see the Herron family back with
Blake attending as well. Everyone certainly hopes Blake continues to get better
after his unfortunate accident. Thanks Blake for helping out with the stopwatch.
Before I forget, I should also say thanks to Andrew Johnstone and Rod Crouch for
their help in marshalling and other behind the scenes activities. The flipper division hit the water, which I am told was very shallow owing to
the tide being out and they were still fairly even after exiting the water. The
open division was only three and a half minutes behind this week, so they were
expected to come home first, but an excellent performance from new member Andrew
Lawrence saw him take line honours from the sprinting pair of Tim Adams and
James Mottram. These two had a spectacular sprint for the line after running
side by side for most of the run. Mal Brown had a great ride in which he managed
to come from well back in the swim, to be first into the bike/run transition,
but the others were just too strong over the closing stages. Mal finished
fourth. He was follwed home by Linda Weatherill, Michelle Krelle with Trudi
Adams coming in 7th. Nice to see you back Trudi. We thought you had
come down to sell the bike! Megan Venhuizen, Scott Wallace and Trevor Bridge
rounded out the top ten finishers for line honours. Well done also to Brianna
Herron who had a big smile as she enjoyed her swim bike and run. Dane also got a
big cheer after he valiantly battled on to finish after pushing his bike back
with a flat tyre. Bad luck Evert, who registered a DNF, although I’m not quite
sure why. Thanks to Dave also for valiantly trying to cook those steaks on the Barbie,
but the wind just blew up at the wrong time and we could not get the thing to
stay alight. Hoping for better luck next week. The Nowra
TriAnimals resumed regular Wednesday night events on 10th January
2001 after a brief break for the Christmas period. It’s time to get out there
again, if just to shed those extra Christmas kilograms. Now we are enjoying some
great weather as well. There were still quite a few triathletes absent on the
first night, including me (if you can count me as a triathlete), but I
understand the night’s race went well thanks to those officials who were
available to organize things on the night. Jamie and I were both in Sydney for
the opening ceremony of the Sydney Youth Olympic festival, featuring Nowra
TriAnimals Tim Adams and Robbie Williams. The opening ceremony was a miniature
version of the Olympic opening ceremony on a much smaller scale (and budget),
but was still very enthusiastic and hopefully Tim and Robbie will have it etched
in their memories for years to come. Last week on
17th January, we had
another Wednesday night event with again a small but enthusiastic starting
field. The format was changed to run, swim, bike, swim and run for a change and
proved both popular and successful. Jamie did the handicaps off the top of his
head and athletes left in a staggered start on their own or in groups. The
visiting athletes training with Jamie over the past few weeks are still here and
providing some extra stiff competition for the locals. The back markers gave
away just over 5 minutes start but managed to close the gap considerably during
the cycle leg, before getting away by the end of the final run. Only visiting
Panthers triathlete John Powderly, managed to hold off the fast finishing Robbie and
Tim. Dane, Mega and the others were hot on their heels and Paul Bromley showed
he was back with a very good time as well. On the weekend
several members travelled to Sydney for the Rival series Enduro race, held around the It was great to see a much bigger turn out for last week’s mini tri. Twenty odd competitors decided to shed those Christmas kilograms and get back into shape. The format for the night was a standard swim, bike, run but athletes were set off at intervals in smaller groups of three to five. On go were the two Ross sisters Ali and Courtney (good to see you back girls), Lou Reali, Megan Venhuizen, Tony Byrne and Linda and Neil Weatherill. Next, off two minutes, with the leaders approaching the first buoy, were Ross Henry, Evert Venhuizen, Trevor Bridge and Tony Ireland and these guys looked good for a win on the night. Mel Dickson and Darryl Callaghan were next into the water at three minutes behind, with the leaders around the second ca by now. Finally the back markers including John Powderly (last week’s winner), Robbie Williams, James Mottram, Dane Earsman and Tim Adams and by now the leaders were exiting the water. It didn’t look possible for the back markers to catch the leaders this time. Conditions were excellent for the bike leg with dry roads and little wind and there were some very fast times. The back markers made up a huge deficit and came in to the bike/run transition close with the leaders. Robbie looked very strong on the night but he was definitely pushed all the way by Dane who finished very strongly. James Mottram also looked strong and these boys should do well in the State All Schools triathlon coming up in February. Tim looked in excellent shape, preparing for the weekend’s Olympic Distance race in Canberra and he finished running smoothly. Tim was followed by Mel Dickson, who has now gone back to Newcastle after her successful training camp in Nowra with Jamie Turner and his squad. Mel just outsprinted John Powderly to the finish. Well done to every one else for either giving it your best or just getting out and having fun. You will have to watch out for Trevor on the flash new Peugeot. Let’s try and beat last weeks numbers with an even bigger crowd tonight. See you there. Once again, the weather was not very kind to us for the Wednesday night mid week triathlon. Still, a dozen or so hardy souls made it to the start line for a swim/bike/run format. A prize was offer for the first three athletes who could guess their time or nearest to it. The extra short swim caught a few off guard and previous times were not much of a help on the night. The strong down river current also made the swim times much faster than usual. The lead bunch, consisting of Ross Henry, Megan and Evert Venhuizen, Ali and Courtney Ross and new member John Bond took to the water and had well and truly exited and got onto their bikes before the chase pack got wet. Ross Henry has a blinder of a swim and had quite a handsome margin coming out of the water, which he managed to hang onto throughout the bike leg as well. Evert was in hot pursuit and these two headed out onto the run with a fair lead over Ali and Courtney, but they were chasing hard. The young guns were in next, with Dane first off the bike, followed closely by Robbie, Tim and Mega. Paul Bromley was not too far behind either. Out on the run, Ross managed to hold off Evert to take line honours withy Robbie coming through for third. Shaun and Tim had excellent runs to just hold out Dane and Mega. John brought up the rear after a good all round performance for his first effort with the TriAnimals. I’m sure we’ll see John back next week too, as see finished full of good humour. Congratulations and a free bicycle tube to Courtney, who managed to guess her finishing time to the exact second. Ross Henry was just eight seconds off and Ali Ross just 10 seconds off the mark. They also get a spare tube. The others better just stick to racing and forget about punting on their times. Well done everybody and thanks to the marshals and mum and dad supporters. This weekend, we have Tim and Robbie competing at the curtain-raiser to the Formula 1 triathlon at manly on Saturday. They will take part in a 5 male-5 female race, which will be a demonstration of the state of junior development in NSW. Well done guys. The next day, they will be joined at Kurnell by more of our members. Good Luck to everybody this weekend. See you next week. A beautiful night down by the river saw TriAnimals emerge from hiding in much larger numbers for lasts week’s mini triathlon. Former new member and now old hand John Bond not only came back for another mini tri but brought two more friends with him. Well done John and welcome to Zane Gray (isn’t he a movie star?) and John Robins. Welcome also to Nathan Gloag and Bernadette Bellwood who were both down in Nowra for some extra training with Jamie and his group. Nathan managed to finish fourth outright at Kurnell last weekend and is obviously in good form. Bernadette also finished high in her age group as I recall. Jamie and his group of Nowra TriAnimals are obviously getting quite a reputation and there have been several athletes come to Nowra over the recent school holidays to train with them. It was also great to see Steve Henry come down to join his brother Ross and make it a family affair. Welcome (back) also to Naomi and Elisha Berry and father Dave, who accompanied Elisha through the swim and ride. The group of 24 was split into three categories with Pat Kline leading through the swim and onto the bike. Pat must have had the hammer down because she was also first back of the bike – great going Pat. She was fairly hotly pursued, however, by Arnie, Bernadette and Ross who had started their swim three minutes later, but made up some ground on the bike. The A division guys had a long wait of seven minutes before they hit the water, with Tim Adams getting a head start by running up along the beach toward the first can. Tim and the other guys must have chased pretty hard but they could not make up the gap to take line honours. Ross was first back across the line closely followed by Bernadette and Arnie in a sprint finish, just edging out Pat on the line. An exciting finish for the spectators! Congratulations also to Robbie Williams for taking the outright win at Kurnell for the second time this year. He put in a blistering run to advance from third back off the bike to take the win, overcoming his JDS teammates Shaun Logue and Johno Grady. Congratulations also to James Mottram, for his second place behind Robbie in the very competitive 15-16 year age group and to Pat Kline for her third place in her age group. John Towey also competed, but had a flat tyre on the ride, which unfortunately dealt his chances a cruel blow. Better luck next time John. See you all again next week. 14th February 2001In contrast to the glorious weather of the previous week, this week we were subjected to a damp, miserable evening, so numbers were down again accordingly. Still, it was good to see a quality field turn up despite the conditions. The river looked very calm, but still is quite brown after all the recent rain. There was also quite a strong current running, which could not be seen from the riverbank until the first wave of swimmers hit the water. They were given a substantial start of seven minutes before the chase pack dived in. Tim Adams showed what an advantage a background of swimming produces as he was the only swimmer to take the correct line to the first can, with everyone else losing some ground being dragged down stream and having to swim against the current to make the turn at the first can. We have had several weeks of fast swims with strong currents helping to reduce the second leg on the swim to less than a minute. Pat Kline decided to call it a day after the swim and play it safe by avoiding the wet roads. Haley Findlay and Nick McDonald had excellent rides and were closely followed by John Robins. John’s son Brandon was doing really well also and seemed to be really enjoying his first triathlon with the TriAnimals. Zane Gray came in after these guys, courtesy of a slow swim leg, but he put in a blinder of a run to move way up the field in the final results. Robbie, Shaun, James, Dane and Tim also performed to their usual very strong capacity and made up most of the seven-minute start handicap. Final finishing order was Nick McDonald, after a great run going out second from the bike transition. Haley was second across the line in the great time of 21:52. Zane Gray’s fantastic run saw him cross the line third in front of the fast finishing Robbie and Shaun. A special good luck goes out this weekend to James Mottram and Robbie Williams, who will both be traveling to Sydney with their coach Jamie Turner, where they will undertake a series of time trials with the aim of meeting the qualifying criteria for the NSW Institute of Sport’s triathlon programme. Along with fellow J&R Trisport member Shaun Logue, they hope to swim, run and ride their way into NSWIS sponsorship. Good Luck guys! I note that I no longer have current email addresses for some of the members. Please let me know if you have changed yours. Finally, there will be a presentation BBQ held after the last mini-tri before daylight saving ends. This will be the Wednesday night 21st March. Details will be advised to competitors who come to the remaining five Wednesday night mini-tris. See you there. Nowra TriAnimals Another balmy summer evening greeted the athletes for last week’s mini-tri down at the river. The tide was way out, so that athletes could stand waist deep only almost all the way out to the cans. The tide was slack too, so that nobody got dragged off course in the swim. Ross Henry and David Foley were out of the water well in front in the first wave, followed by Ali and Courtney Ross who are both showing excellent swimming form. The second wave hit the water as the last of the first wave and jumped onto their bikes. The cycle leg was altered for a change and bypassed the turn at Nobbler’s Lane in Terara, instead heading straight through for a single U-turn half a kilometer further up Terara Road. This seemed to work well as almost everyone managed to make the turn without coming to grief. Arnie powered through on the bike leg to take a big lead going into the run. He was followed by Ross, Evert and then Ali and Courtney. When the second wave came through, Mega put the pedal down and taking only Robbie with him, proceeded to slice through the pack. In the end Robbie got there just in front to claim fourth behind Arnie, Ross and Evert, with Mega right behind in fifth place. David Foley had a great race to finish strongly, as did Haley Findlay. Naomi, after having a dismount at the turn finished with a strong run and little sister Elisha also finished full of running. Well done girls. Well done also to John who, even though he brought up the rear of the field, did so with a smile and it’s obvious to see he enjoys his triathlons. Congratulations and a lucky prize goes to Evert, Courtney and Pat Kline who all will receive a bicycle tube for coming across the line in a predetermined place. Once again, don’t forget, the number of events left is running down fast as we approach the end of daylight saving, so come on out and have a go. On another note, I have entry forms for Merimbula on 4th March, Narooma on 10th and 11th March and the Weet-Bix sponsored Kids TRYathlon in Sydney on 18th March. Let me know if you need one. 28th February 2001
Nowra TriAnimals The TriAnimals enjoyed another great turn out last week as the season comes
toward the close. Many of the young athletes are getting ready for this week’s
NSW All Schools triathlon, where TriAnimals are expected to do well again this
year. It was also great to see two more new faces in Todd LeBroque and Nick
Milnes. Nick has decided to have a go after watching the mini-tri’s go past
his house on Wednesday nights for the past few years. Goon on you guys, we hope
you enjoyed your first event. James Mottram, who is recovering from a viral
illness, spent time competing alongside and helping the guys cover the course.
Thanks James, I’m sure they appreciated it and benefited from the experience. The field was divided into 3 groups for the event and this proved highly
successful, because all athletes came together for the final run leg with the
handicapping being spot on. Excellent times were posted from everybody.
Hopefully this form will continue in the upcoming serious events. Don’t forget, just a few events left now for the season, with a BBQ to
follow on the evening of the last event. Further details at the event. See you
all again next week. Dismal weather greeted jus a handful of athletes for the mini tri last week.
It rained before the start, got heavier through the event and slowed to a
drizzle by the time the event was over. We welcomed a trio of new competitors in
Eve Grey, Kylie Hogan and Nikita Green, who were there to try out their skills
for the first and only time before having a go at the State All Schools
triathlon teams event which was held last Saturday, the day after the individual
events were run. The State All Schools was the other reason, apart from the
weather, why numbers were down as many of the usual competitors were tapering
for the state championships. The St John’s team did a great job for a trio of
novices. After a single mass start, Eve led the competitors out of the water,
where she handed over to Kylie. By the end of the bike leg on some very wet
roads, Kylie managed to hang onto a good lead and Nikita ran strongly to record
a good win for the first timers from St John’s. Well done girls! Would they be
able to make an impression at Penrith? The other recent event in Nowra was the 4th round of the NSW Triathlon State Cup, open only to members of Triathlon NSW and a number of present and former TriAnimals members competed in the event, organized and run by Lez Freeman and his team. Unfortunately I was not present, but I hear the event went well. Local competitors included Chris Vince (5th M40-44), John Towey (11th M35-39), Neil Weatherill (7th M35-39), Linda Weatherill (7th F35-39), Andrew Lawrence (10th, M30-34) and Paul Finch (7th M50-54). Excellent results and well done. Nowra TriAnimals also had some excellent results at the State All Schools triathlon last weekend. In the 16 years plus male category, Tim Adams brought home the silver medal, claiming second overall and second in the Government Schools category. In the under 16 boys Robbie Williams took gold with Dane Earsman the bronze in the overall and these boys were first and third in the Government Schools category also. Other results are: Courtney Ross (under 14 years, third in Catholic Division), Ali Ross (under16 years, sixth in Catholic Division), Nick McDonald (under 14, seventh in Gov schools division), Ross Henry (under 16, 22nd in Gov schools division), Haley Findlay (under 16, 10th in Gov schools division). James Mottram unfortunately performed below his usual excellent standard but still managed 8th in the boys 16 years group. On the Saturday, the girls from St John’s got their chance to show their stuff and I believe they came around 10th in the 14 years girls category. Nowra High Schools team of Robbie, Dane and James Mottram carved up the field to not only take gold in their age group but also to beat home all the 19 years teams as well. Dane got the team off to an excellent start coming in 5th overall in the swim and second in age group. Robbie took the lead outright on the bike and James ran away with a strong run to extend the lead to 40 seconds to the first 19 years team and over a minute to the next, second placed 16 years team. Well done guys, a magnificent performance from each of you. Don’t forget, there are just a few mini tri’s left for the season, so make the most of them and do turn out, even if the weather is a bit off, as the events will almost never be cancelled. The end of season presentation will also go ahead after the last event on the Wednesday night. Details at the event. See you there. 14th March 2001
Nowra TriAnimals With only two mid week mini tri events left, we had a good turn out for last
week. The weather was kind as well for a change. Jamie decided to allocate an
individual handicap for something different and it proved to be really good for
the spectators as almost every competitor came in together into the bike-run
transition. Good to Nick Milnes come back for his second tri. PB too Nick! Well
done! At the start, Chris Scharfegger was off by herself and the rest of the
competitors could see just how strong the current was, which should have helped
in showing which direction to swim when it was their turn to enter the water. It
seems that not everybody was watching Chris as the next few swimmers also
under-estimated the current. Matthew Elford was off second, followed by John
Bond, Steve Henry and Nick Milnes. Evert missed his start but was given a new
handicap on the fly. Chris was first out of the water with the others hot on her heels, Nick
showed he has a mean swim by moving up just behind Chris. Further back in the
field, Dane had a big swim to come out of the water well clear of Tim, Mega and
Robbie and then he proceeded to power through to outright lead on the bike,
being first back into transition. He was never headed on the run and crossed the
line comfortably in first, with Tim second after another good run. Robbie was
third across the line in fastest time, followed by James, Ross and Evert. There
was a great sprint over the last hundred or so metres between Arnie and
Courtney, with Arnie just getting up in the dying stages. A great spectacle
there guys! This brings us now to the end of the mini tri season, but not the triathlon
season itself. There are still quite a few events being held in Sydney and
around the state. There is still a junior series in which TriAnimals are
featuring strongly in the results. Have a look at the Tri NSW calendar, which is
available through the Tri NSW website or the club website. We plan to have a
lull in local events for a couple of months and then start our winter duathlon
season. These duathlons are an excellent way to keep up the bike and run form
and transition skills for the next tri season. Finally, don’t forget that there will be an end of mini-tri season barbecue
and presentation to be held at the Williams’ place after the event on
Wednesday 21st. Food and soft drink will be provide by your
committee, but please bring your own beer etc. Pass the word on to members who
may have been turning out early in the season, but have not been for a while.
All club members are welcome. Nowra TriAnimals last mini tri for 2001 season The club enjoyed a great turn out for the last event of the 2000/2001 season. The weather threatened from the west but nothing eventuated and we had fine conditions throughout. The event was a standard swim/bike/run format with individual handicaps for all starters. The tide was running very strongly once again as John Bond hit the water first. Everyone watching felt a little nervous as John seemed to get carried swiftly up river and we were all wondering how he would go into the current after rounding the first can. We need not have worried as in the end he made it easily and emerged from the water still in first place. Behind him, everyone else also seemed to be having an equally hard time in the swim. On exiting the water, Evert seemed to be lost, but we know that without his glasses he has trouble seeing where he is going. Once he puts them on however, he really gets going as he did again this week. Competitors gradually came together through the bike leg and once again, with good handicapping, everyone was out on the run course at the same time. Dane and Tim must have had a flyer on the bike as they came in just behind the leaders and we looked set for a close finish on the run. Could Tim take line honours twice in a row? As it happened, Tim did put in a big effort to come across the line just 5 seconds ahead of Dane, who was also finishing strongly. In third place, Robbie was closing in from behind and it looks as though these three are in fine form as they head off to Perth for the national All Schools Championships at the end of next week. Further back, everyone seemed to be putting in the last bit of effort for the final event, perhaps so they could go home feeling good about there season. The event was followed by a presentation barbecue at the Williams’ place. Everyone who attended seemed to enjoy themselves and thanks go to Sue for putting on the night, with lots of help from Aileen and Melinda and, of course Greg, who manned the barbie with expertise. Prizes were awarded for Outstanding junior and senior athletes in both male and female. These went to Robbie Williams, Courtney Ross, Paul Bromley and Pat Kline respectively. Most improved junior and senior were Tim Adams and Evert Venhuizen and most consistent athlete went to Dane because he attended more duathlons and triathlons combined that anyone else. Well done to all those members. Paul was absent on the night as he was competing in Adelaide. That brings the triathlon season to a close and the duathlon season will commence some time after April. Keep an eye on the website for details. National All Schools 2001
These were held in Perth in early April. We were represented by Tim Adams in
the under 19 males and by Dane Earsman and Robbie Williams in the under 16
males. All of the boys came home with a medal. In the under 19 males, Tim had a good swim to be out of the water in the top
two or three, but with a good transition was able to head out first on the bike
leg. He and fellow NSW team member Pieter Boer pulled away on the bike, putting
in a very handy gap into the third place rider. Tim came home first on the bike
but was not able to build up a substantial lead over his team mate. As
spectators, we had to sweat out the run, knowing that Tim had already had
his two strongest legs. It was a case of all fingers and toes crossed hoping Tim
could hold onto a place. A expected is team mate came in first, followed by
Victorian and then a further wait. When Tim came powering through in third
place, the NSW team and supporters wnet up as one in a loud cheer. Tim had the
biggest grin I've seen and there is no doubt it was his best ever result. In the under 16 males, Dane led out of the water with Robbie in third or
fourth, Good transitions saw them go out first and second on the bike. The ride
course was quite tough consisting four laps with two 500 metre climbs per lap
and some tight technical sections. Robbie worked his way into the lead and Dane
was joined by a group of other riders. Robbie was joined at the front by
eventual winner Gareth Halvorsen from the ACT and these two tested each other
out on the hills with neither gaining a clear advantage. It seemed the race
would be decided in the run. Robbie headed out onto the run in first place and
at that stage was considered favourite, but the ACT competitor would not be
denied and ran the race of his life to take the event. Robbie finished second in
what must still be considered an excellent performance. Dane finished in the top
ten. In the relays, the boys were keener than ever to take home a gold medal. All
age groups were run simultaneously. Tim's team swimmer was first out of the
water and he was closely followed by Dane, who had an excellent swim to tag
Robbie for the bike leg. Tim and Robbie had excellent transitions and were first
out onto the ride course. They proceeded to blitz the opposition as they pulled
away from a group of three riders, two from the ACT and one from Victoria. These
three seemed to draft one another a little too much with the result that the
Victorian team was disqualified as a result. Robbie and Time were first back on
the bike giving their runners an excellent chance at a one-two for NSW. The
question was "Could the under 16s hold off the under 19s for overall
honours?" Not so, as Tim's team mate Pieter Boer overtook Robbie's team
mate Matt Murphy. Matt finished about 5 seconds behind in third overall but was
promoted to second with the disqualification of Victoria. Overall, it was a very exciting event and well done to Tim, Dane and Robbie.
They did themselves, their club and their state proud.
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