AUSTRALIANS DOMINIATE PODIUM AT OCEANIA TITLES
TRIATHLON March 25, 2012: Australian triathlete Peter Kerr has continued his current good form with an impressive performance to seal a convincing win, while Sarah Deuble has emerged as a rising young star to claim her first major win at the Northside Party Hire ITU Mooloolaba Oceania Cup this morning.
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Coming from a surf life saving background the Geelong based triathlete, Kerr, was among the five strong lead pack who exited the Olympic distance (1.5km swim, 40km cycle, 10km run) ITU World Cup race today.
“It’s really worked in my favour today. I come from a surf lifesaving background so the beach swim start here today was a dream.
“Unfortunately at the end, a group of guys caught the wave back in so it just meant we had to work hard on the cycle leg straight away,” Kerr said.
A tight pack of five males including Kerr, Matt Brown, Jesse Featonby, Mitchell Kealey and Taylor Cecil stormed into the final transition for the 10km run.
“I have been confident in my running so it was a relief to get that race that just comes together. I couldn’t be happier,” added Kerr.
Kerr claimed third place on the podium in the 2011 Mooloolaba ITU World Cup so was thrilled to claim the title 8-seconds ahead of fellow Australian Brown today.
Kerr, who plans to head to Europe this year, for some hot weather training, claimed that Mooloolaba is definitely listed on the calendar as one of his favourite races.
“I love having fun out there with the guys. It’s not all fun, I did cop a punch to the jaw this morning in the swim, I don’t know who it was but it can get a bit rough - at the end of the day we’re all mates and we’re all doing what we love.
“It’s fantastic coming to Mooloolaba, it’s a magnificent race,” said Kerr.
Queensland’s rising young star Matt Brown also said that his training set him up for a good race this morning and is working towards racing in Japan at the ITU Triathlon World Cup.
“I had a great race, we all had to work really hard but it really came together.
“I’ve got Ishigaki ITU Triathlon World Cup in a couple of weeks and then I might head over to Europe,” the young triathlete said.
Canberra’s Jesse Featonby crossed the line in third place today and claimed he had the swim of his life but just didn’t have the legs to catch the rising young gun, Brown.
“I had the swim of my life and couldn’t be happier.
“It was always going to come down to a running race on this course. Brown and I went neck to neck, he’s an awesome young kid with such a bright future. He got me coming over the hill and I just had nothing in those last 500 metres,” Featonby said.
In the women’s event Sarah Deuble took line honours, ahead of Australia’s Tamsyn Moana-Veale and Chloe Turner.
“I am really happy with my win today. I did Devonport (OTU Triathlon Oceania Championships) a few weeks ago so this is only my second big race. It’s great to come away with a win.
“There was a good tail-wind going out on the bike, so that was not too bad, but coming back was pretty hard. There was a bit of water on the course and I think a few girls came off their bikes,” said Deuble.
Deuble, who was racing in her second Olympic distance triathlon today, was behind the pack in the swim but made good time on the bike and run leg to beat home Moana-Veale and Turner.
“I made some time up on the bike leg and think I started the run in about 3rd place. I eased into the run, I didn’t want to go too hard to start with and then I slowly picked up the pace to get ahead and stay ahead of the other girls,” Deuble said.
The nineteen-year old is looking forward to continuing her training to prepare for the upcoming Ishigaki ITU Triathlon World Cup Race.
“I think I’ll be heading over to Japan in a couple of weeks so I’m really excited about that,” she added.
Third place getter, Chloe Turner, enjoyed racing on home turf but just didn’t have the run legs to catch the lead girls.
“I didn’t quite have the run legs today but to come third place in my hometown with my coach watching is something I am happy with,” Turner said.
The two rising stars of triathlon, Brown and Deuble , are the winners of the Luke Harrop Bursary.
In memory of Luke Matthew Harrop, the bursary has been designed with Luke in mind as it includes his two favourite races being Noosa and Mooloolaba, as well as the Luke Harrop Memorial Race. The purpose of the bursary is to support up-and-coming elite triathletes like Brown and Deuble, who have not yet reached senior-elite ranks.
Brown and Deuble will both receive a cash grant of $1,000.
As a prequel to the ITU World Cup Elite Women’s race scheduled to start at 12:45pm today, over 6000 keen age-group competitors took up their own challenge in the 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run from 6:30am this morning.
RESULTS
Men
1. Peter Kerr (AUS) 01:49:30
2. Matt Brown (AUS) 01:49:38
3. Jesse Featonby (AUS) 01:49:48
4. Aurelien Lebrun (FRA) 01:50:07
5. David Mainwaring (AUS) 01:50:15
Women
1. Sarah Deuble (AUS) 02:02:51
2. Tamsyn Moana-Veale (AUS) 02:03:40
3. Chloe Turner (AUS) 02:03:54
4. Ellen Pennock (CAN) 02:05:09
5. Allison Hooper (CAN) 02:05:32
Full results are available at www.mooloolabatri.com.au
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