NSW triseries Triathlon Championship Results 2011

Queensland and Victoria have the Gatorade Triathlon Series which have established themselves as the premium triathlon series in their states. Up to now NSW has relied on the the Sydney Sprint series in Kurnell to offer age groupers with something to chase each season. This series mainly caters for Sydney residents while the rest of the state relies on local club races. The QLD and VIC series attracts upwards of 1500 competitors to each weekend and they put on 2-3 races on the day to cater to all levels of participation. From kids to enticer and of course the main race of the day which varies from short sprint to Olympic distance. There are 6 or 7 rounds in these series.

In the 2010/2011 season just finished Elite Energy put together what is hopefully going to become an Australian triathlon series icon. Each of the 5 rounds of the triseries had at least three races and on a couple of occasions included the NSW pro tour.

One of the great things to see were the junior kids racing. The triseries gave them all a serious race to get their teeth in to. What stood out was Corey Bacon’s kids from ACT. This squad really set a benchmark and gave the others kids something to work towards during the season. It was nice to see kids from different cities and regions meeting up each time and slowly building friendships in the sport of triathlon.

Up to the Sprint series and Mick Maroney really dominated. Not surprising to us all but he was on a mission and came through. In the women’s sprint series Laura Siddall was a standout winner putting in bike splits that rivaled the fastest guys. She also came second equal in the Olympic distance series for her age group.

Whilst she didn’t gain a large number of points it was good to see Tara Prowse back racing again in Nowra.

In the Olympic distance series we saw Michael Fox and Sam Douglas battle it out with the Michael being the one who raced the most events and in the end taking the series title. Pete Jacobs took out the first race in Forster and showed everyone how you run 10kms in 32mins. Mitch Robins and Adam Holborrow also raced in Forster coming 2nd and 3rd. In Callala it was Aaron Royle’s turn to show the boys how it was done with a stunning display of pace right from the start.

Lisa Marangon took out both the Pro Tour and the Olympic distance titles. In Forster and Huskisson Lisa backed up from racing the Pro Tour on the Saturday to win the Olympic distance races on the Sunday.

In the 2011/2012 season they have even more races planned with Wagga Wagga and Port Stephens added to the calendar. These races have the added advantage of offering triathlon clubs outside of Sydney a series to race at on a more regular basis.

Next season will also see three long distance triathlons added to the calendar. Forster, Wagga Wagga and Batemans Bay will have a 2km/120km/20km ‘Ultimate Triathlon’. The reason behind this new distance is to offer a challenge to triathletes but without the need to train for and recover from a 42.2km run. The new Abu Dhabi International Triathlon is a 3km/200km/20km race and is starting to attract big numbers. In 2008 the ITU Long Distance Triathlon World Championship was a 4km/120km/30km race.