The EXSS Sprint Duathlon was held on Sunday 16 October 2022. Warm but windy conditions greeted more than 130 athletes at Champion Lakes for the State Duathlon Championship event.
The crown was well and truly up for grabs in the Open Female field, with reigning Duathlon and Triathlete of the Year (TOTY) Champion Aleisha Wesley (North Coast) logging a DNS due to injury. Late entrant Felicity Sheedy-Ryan (UWA) put on a strong performance to take home the title in a time of 1:03:26.7. Fremantle athlete Rachael Smyth finished less than a minute behind Sheedy-Ryan to claim second, with fellow Fremantle club-mate Herlene Yu hot on her heels in third. Katherine Ryan (Stadium), Indie Arbuckle (XTR) and Alexandra Meek (UWA) rounded out the top 6. Sian Munks (UWA) unfortunately did not finish after coming off her bike midway through the race. We wish Sian a speedy recovery.
In the Open Male field, it was a nail-biting sprint to the finish with less than 2 minutes between the top three athletes. Reigning TOTY Champion Zeke Tinley (Bunbury) raced home to claim the Title in just 54:38.5. Jonathan Sammut (UWA) made a triumphant return to racing to claim second, followed closely by Sam Mileham (Fremantle) in third. Reece Harris (Mandurah), Paul MacKay (ADF), Rowan Kerr (XTR) and Ronan Hays (Mandurah) rounded out the top 7.
There were a number of notable performances from Age-Group athletes. Joao Carlos Bernardes Neto (non-club) outpaced several of the open athletes to land in 5th place overall, and top of his age-group. Clodagh Glynn (Stadium), Janne Leibmann (Fremantle), and Anna Massey (Exceed) all placed in the top 10 females overall.
Junior athletes shone bright, with finishing times not far off those of the Open athletes. Josh Fletcher (Exceed) and Josh Neervort (Fremantle) showed they could keep up with the big boys, not only snagging the top 2 podium places in the 16-19 Male category but also both placing in the top 10 overall. 16-19 Female athlete Erin Driscoll (North Coast) also placed in the top 10 females overall with an impressive time of 1:10:09.7.
View full results here: https://my.raceresult.com/203371/#0_8A4B11
The EXSS Sprint Duathlon was the first Triathlon WA Senior and Junior State Series race of the 2022/23 season, and the WA State Duathlon Championship for all Senior Age Groups. All eligible athletes earnt points toward Triathlete of the Year – who will win this season?! Keep an eye on our website for the leaderboard update.
The next State Series race for juniors is the EXSS Sprint Triathlon on Sunday, 27 November, and for seniors it will be the City of Joondalup Coastal Quest on Sunday, 18 December.