Sunday’s warm weather challenged the 447 athletes that lined up on the start line at the City of Joondalup Coastal Quest. With the event playing host to the Triathlon WA State Sprint Championships, 181 eligible members battled it out on course for the title of State Champion.
The event catered for a multitude of distances and disciplines, with a sprint distance, an enticer distance, a duathlon and a SunSmart Kids Triathlon along the Mullaloo beach foreshore. The event was also the final event in the Junior State Series.
The Open Sprint male athletes were the first Sprint wave off the beach. 2019 State Sprint Champion, Jonney Sammut (Exceed Tri Club/UWA Tri Club) headed up a strong male field including Nick Thompson (UWA Tri Club), Adam White (Exceed Tri Club), Matt Burton (Oceanic Tri Club), Guy Crawford (Fremantle Tri Club), Reece Harris (Mandurah Tri Club), Sam Mileham (Fremantle Tri Club), Zeke Tinley (Bunbury Tri Club), Tommaso Puccini (UWA Tri Club) and Kurt Wesley (North Coast Tri Club).
Sammut led the field all day, with the fastest swim of the day and a speedy T1 setting him ahead. Burton’s work on the bike saw him challenge for top spot but Sammut held his lead and ran away from the pack on the run. Thompson and Kurt stormed home on the run to secure second and third place respectively.
As the first male across the line, Sammut was also presented the Brynt McSwain Trophy. Sammut adds his name to the trophy for a consecutive year, amongst Western Australian athletes; Jesse Thyer, Oli Stenning, Ryan Bailie, Mike Lori and Luke Bate. Since 2014, the WA State Sprint Championships has carried the Brynt McSwain Trophy, awarded to the fastest Male athlete. Brynt was a Triathlon WA member and previous State Champion who tragically lost his life in 2014 when he was knocked from his bike commuting home from work. Thanks to Brynt’s mum, Snow, for carrying on his legacy in this sport and presenting the trophy each year.
Felicity Sheedy-Ryan (UWA Tri Club), two-time World Champion, headed up an exciting Open women’s field including Madison Toovey (North Coast Tri Club), Rhianna Hepburn (UWA Tri Club), Jessica Claxton (North Coast Tri Club), Brooke McCoy (Fremantle Tri Club) and Aleisha Wesley (North Coast Tri Club).
Wesley got off to a great start in the swim, leading the pack out of the water. Her strong start was backed up by a great ride seeing her still leading the pack off the bike. However, the glory was not to be hers with Sheedy-Ryan’s strength in the run proving too much. Sheedy-Ryan finished first almost one and a half minutes ahead of Wesley after heading out of T2 neck and neck. Toovey rounded out the podium for the women’s field with another solid performance, finishing a further minute behind.
The Senior age group athletes (20+) were also vying for State Championship Status. Jason Rhine of Exceed Tri Club (35-39) had the fastest age group time with an impressive 1:00:48, followed closely by Kieran Birch of Fremantle Tri Club (30-34) with 1:00:58.
Emma Moon of Phoenix Tri Club (35-39) finished with the fastest age group female time of the day. Ann Blatchford of North Coast Tri Club (70-74) celebrated her birthday in style, adding a State Sprint Championship and a photo on the podium with her granddaughters.
The Junior State Series saw the 16-19 year old’s tackle the Sprint event in exceptional form, with James Kjellgren-Lewis posting the fourth-fastest swim time of the day. Indie Arbuckle’s skills in transition and her overall strong performance saw her finish ahead of all senior age-groupers on course to take the win.
The 12-13 and 14-15 aged athletes had the enticer distance event as their junior points race. Josh Neervoort was, again, the fastest on course overall and the 14-15 years male winner. Eva Czislowski battled Bridie Crew right to the finish line to take the win by only 12 seconds. Will Cramsie was the 12-13 years male winner, joined on the top spot of the podium by Ava Henville for the girls.
Congratulations to all athletes who took part in the event. It was a great way to commemorate the memory of Brynt McSwain and close out the Junior State Series for the season. We hope to see the senior athletes at the next State Series race – X-Adventure Dunsborough.
STATE SPRINT CHAMPIONS
| Age Group | Female State Champion | Male State Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 20-24 | Kelsey Todd Mandurah Tri Club | Aidan ClarkMandurah Tri Club |
| 25-29 | Sarah NisbetAlbany Triathlon Club | Agonstino ZurzoloUWA Triathlon Club |
| 30-34 | Rachael DoddsNorth Coast Tri Club | Kieran BirchFremantle Triathlon Club |
| 35-39 | Emma MoonPhoenix Triathlon Club | Jason RhineExceed Tri Club |
| 40-44 | Eve O’HareTeam XTR | Jason McNamaraTeam XTR |
| 45-49 | Kerri RenshawTeam XTR | Bart HollemansOceanic Triathlon Club |
| 50-54 | Katherine RyanStadium Triathlon Club | Matt McKayMandurah Tri Club |
| 55-59 | Caroline AndersonBreak Your Limits | Lucky Phil MonksNorth Coast Tri Club |
| 60-64 | Robyn ScottNorth Coast Tri Club | Alan HartleyNorth Coast Tri Club |
| 65-69 | Sandy TindaleNorth Coast Tri Club | George FunkNorth Coast Tri Club |
| 70-74 | Ann BlatchfordNorth Coast Tri Club | Doug AdamsStadium Triathlon Club |
| 75-79 | N/A | Dave ScottPerth Triathlon Club |
| Open | Felicity Sheedy-RyanUWA Triathlon Club | Jonathan SammutExceed Triathlon Club |
STATE SERIES STANDINGS
*Please note, the Junior State Series Leader Board will not be updated following this event as it is the last event for the Series.
The winners will be announced at the Triathlon WA Annual Awards on 30 May.