Rio Rings Loud For Aussie Tri Stars

Posted in Other News

Triathlon, February 21, 2013: The first year after the Olympics is always exciting for young athletes with their eyes on the next Games – this time in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro – and for triathlon the ITU World Championships can often be the starting point to begin Olympic dreaming.

For reigning ITU World Champion and Olympic bronze medallist, Great Britain’s Jonathan Brownlee, 2009 was the break through year which saw him win the Australian Youth Olympic Festival (AYOF) and 12 months later he was crowned ITU Under 23 World champion.

Four years on and he was standing on the Olympic podium with his gold medal-winning brother Alistair – the pair split by Spain’s Javier Gomez – and the toast of London 2012.

It was a similar story with the emergence of 2010 ITU World Champions, Australian pair Emma Jackson (Under 23s) and Ashleigh Gentle (Junior) who have gone on to bigger and better things with Jackson joining Emma Moffatt and Erin Densham on the London team and Gentle pushing them all in the selection battle.

The 2011 Devonport champion, Gentle, is sure to be among the front runners again, pushing hard for Olympic selection in 2016.

This Saturday the Devonport Triathlon could well see the Olympic dreams and aspirations of Australia’s next generation of Olympians start to take shape.

“There is no reason why we won’t see our potential Olympians in both the Junior and the Under 23/Elite race in Devonport on Saturday,” said Triathlon Australia’s National Manager, Athlete Development, Craig Redman.

“You just have to look at Jonathan Brownlee in 2009 and 2010 and know that anything is possible in four years and I expect to see some of our juniors come through and put pressure on our older athletes who will all have the aspirations of going to Rio.”

Saturday’s Australian Junior Championships and London selection race for the ITU World Championships will see several members of the Australian team who swept all before them at the 2013 AYOF, including Tasmania’s own rising star Jacob Birtwhistle.

The 17-year-old Launceston-based schoolboy conquered the oppressive Penrith heat to win the AYOF men’s race and spearhead the Australians to a 1-2 win in the Teams event.

Birtwhistle, who is also an accomplished track runner, proved too strong for fellow National Talent Academy athlete Luke Willian in the men’s race while exciting Western Australian Jaz Hedgeland added the AYOF title to her Australian Junior title.

Apart from the Australian Junior Championship, there is also another carrot dangling in front of our leading juniors – with automatic selection onto the World Championship team.

Redman, along with Olympian Craig Walton is one of the finest triathletes produced in Tasmania and is excited about the next generation – especially the results coming from “his baby” the National Talent Academy (NTA) which is starting to bear fruit.

Triathlon Australia’s High Performance group recognised the need to “fast track” its talented juniors and the NTA is already doing just that with two of its most recent graduates – Marcel Walkington and Joel Tobin-White – both earning themselves VIS Scholarships.

Walkington will line up in the Elite field on Saturday alongside the likes of Olympian Brendan Sexton, ITU World Under 23 champion Aaron Royle, Australian Sprint champion Peter Kerr, runner-up Cameron Good, amongst others.

A third NTA athlete, former Western Australian Kenji Nenner is on the brink of a QAS Scholarship after his move to Brisbane.

“Saturday’s Junior race will be a cracker with Birtwhistle, AYOF Trial race winner Willian, Christian Wilson and another NTA athlete Matt Baker leading the boys race while Hedgeland and fellow NTA athlete and Jodie Duff will lead the Australian girls along with defending champion and ITU World Champion Mikayla Nielsen,” said Redman.

“There is no reason why some of these guys can’t put themselves in the Olympic picture come 2016. They are in the ideal position to put pressure on some of the older athletes which is only going to bring the best out in them all,” said Redman.

“Many of our NTA athletes have won National track championships and they all know that if they are going to be competitive with the best in the world it’s in the run where it’s going to count.

“Most of our guys are good swim/bikers and it’s the run where the Brownlees and Gomez are so dominant.”

Australia has the opportunity of selecting one of the most exciting teams for this year’s ITU World Championships, to be run in the Olympic city, just 12 months after the Games.

Saturday may well provide some early indications, in more ways than one.

Saturday’s Time Table:
8am – Australian Age Group Triathlon Championships
11.30am – ITU Junior Women
12.45 – ITU Junior Men
2:15 – Elite and Under 23 Women
3:30 – Elite and Under 23 Men
5pm – Presentations (Devonport SLSC)

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Issued on behalf of Triathlon Australia by

Ian Hanson

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