Freo goes to the Gong
Two Aussies and a Kiwi from Freo went to Wollongong to race sprint distance at the World Championships.
There were several thousand athletes from around the world competing across all age groups, para and elite categories across several days. For age groupers there was racing across standard distance for triathlon and aquabike, sprint distance, and mixed team relays. The mixed team relays are a relatively new addition for age group racing and with a 300m swim, 7km bike and 1.5k run they were fast, furious and a lot of fun!
The T100 and pro races were on at the weekend after the age group racing, so there was plenty of to watch and soak up the awesome atmosphere after racing. We all raced well and finished in the top half of our age groups.
Kinga Hague
Am I on some triathlon high? I was almost hyperventilating with excitement arriving in Wollongong, dropping my bags and wildly running the 1km from my air bnb to the top of the point where I could see a mass of fluro green on the peak of a hill.
I ran past a group of BraziliIans, squeezed past a bunch of Canadians, waved to the NZ team and stopped to chat to Poland. Finally found the 1000 Aussies at the very back of the procession and joined in the walk back down the hill, yelling Aussie Aussie Aussie, OI OI OI!!
Day of the race was a windy one and seeing white caps out on the ocean, I heard the announcements that the swim had to be changed to a V formation to keep it in calmer waters. This made the course so congested for a starting wave of 56. The walk to the swim start was a great elevated view point to see earlier waves taking off and the music from the start line was pumped out to speakers along the path. We danced to Pitbull while slurping Maurtens.
Our waiting song in the starting pen was Thrift shop, Macklemore. Standing on the timing line and ready with goggles on and watches primed we heard the heart beat pulsation sound for 6 agonizingly slow seconds before the start gun The bunch was crazed with aggression on the first turn, spreading out nicely as we swam to the second bouy. I came out of the water a bit surprised at how far back I was, which felt like mid pack. Knowing the real fun starts on the bike, I sprinted out of T1 with full knowledge that I had a hard chase on to catch up to a fast pack.
I rode that bike like Seabiscuit for the first 4Km overtaking solo riders. I grabbed onto a bunch of 5 women on the long straight and held on for a breather to recover a bit. I knew the route and knew a hill was coming up so held my gaze on the butt in front of me, planning a burst of quadriceps crunching speed up Port kembla road.
After sending it down spectator hill at 56kph we had a turn off to T2. I heard the announcer say “here’s the second pack coming through now” so I was really happy with that pursuit and where it had delivered me. The run was a bloody hilly 3 laps, apparently scenic but I didn’t take any landscape appreciation in. I ran my usual full effort, long strides and focused on closing the gap of the runner in front of me. The crowds were huge and the finish line was huge. I was frothing to have the opportunity to be running in an Australian tri suit.
Lise Ashton
Wollongong-here I come- even though it’s a bit close to the Sydney marathon. The stress of travelling with a bike was decreased by following other athletes with bikes eg 2Canadian blokes from the airport and then some aussies to the accommodation.
The excitement of the Parade of Nations with 1000 odd other Aussies began the buildup. Friday’s weather was windy and the change of the sprint swim leg was a bit disappointing as it is my best leg. The chance of drafting in the ride - a new skill- was only possible for a short time as the F30s flew past us
Three run laps up and around the lighthouse made for a challenging race ending with a sprint finish to stop a GBR lady passing me. Happy enough with result.
Next up a mixed relay -a new event for me. The team is picked by AUS triathlon with a female, male, female then male athlete My team was from 4 different states and we met the afternoon before. Next morning after a team warmup we proceeded to the outer harbour pier. A 300 m swim back to shore, a 5.6 km draft legal hilly ride and a 1.36 km run back down past the lighthouse. Karyn was first then Matt to myself then Doug Your team number is displayed on a big screen and announced as you run down the hill. Unfortunately Doug wasn’t ready as I approached but with some shouting of our team number he appeared, tagged and was off. We regrouped to recovery and walked to the finish to cheer and celebrate. A fun chaotic event.
The opportunity to represent Australia, visit this wonderful town,meet other athletes, watch world class competitors and experience a draft legal race and a mixed relay was amazing. An event to target again- possibly NZ in ‘28?!
Rebecca Speirs
For me I had a great races in both the sprint and mixed team relay off a solid base built up from long distance offroad adventures running the Larapinta and riding the Gravel Muster in Alice Springs earlier in the year in August. A couple weeks off then a six week short sharp block to sharpen up did the trick and I was on great form for race week.
Kinga and I did our usual side-by-side through the swim, I had my usual lightening fast transition and was about 1km up the road on the bike thinking ‘Kinga is due about now’ when she sailed past. I attempted to hang on but she was on fire and it wasn’t happening! A good T2 and out onto the run, 3 laps of a hilly course. There was great support all around the course and it gave me the extra boost to finish strong and fend off a chasing Canadian on the blue carpet.
For the mixed team relay the Kiwis got to pick our own teams so I raced with my former race rival from Tauranga, Angie Wall and a couple Grants from Tauranga and New Plymouth. I was first as Ange said I’d be more aggressive in the swim than her! She was probably right there, I don’t mind a mosh pit swim - 10 years of swimming in the chop of Wellington harbour when I lived in NZ is excellent training for rough swims!
I had the most fantastic time all week hanging out with a mix of the Freo peeps and my Kiwi triathlon tribes from Wellington and Tauranga where I have lived previously. It was like a fusion of all my favourite people from two countries!
The Kiwi team have a super special manager in the form of Mel who is like camp mum for the team, uniting us through our NZ team WhatsApp group and keeping us posted with everything we needed to know. She’s the one in the Kiwi suit in the photo below which featured in a few of the event photos and on the TV news.
This was my 5th World champs since 2012. Previously I’ve raced in Sprint at Auckland 2012, Duathlon in Adelaide 2015, Cross Triathlons in the Snowy Mountains 2016 and Townsville 2024. Each event is super special and a unique experience.
The next time worlds will be in Australasia is in 2028 when it goes to my old Kiwi home town of Tauranga. Let’s see how many Freo clubbies we can qualify and send a team over!!
