NOOSA HEADS AUSSIES MASTERS POINTSCORE AT KURRAWA
And they even upstaged some of the club's biggest names along the way - including three former Australian Ironman champions, coaches Grant Kenny and Darren Mercer and Steve Pullen - who between them have
won seven Australian ironman titles.
Thanks to the girls, Noosa Heads are poised to win the overall Masters pointscore - opening up a 40-point lead over defending champions Northcliffe with the champion lifesaver points to be added in and the board riding to be completed tomorrow (Wednesday).
At the close of business on Tuesday night and with the majority of events completed, Noosa Heads (227) led Northcliffe (187) and fellow Sunshine Coast club Mooloolaba (171) followed by North Burleigh (169) Byron Bay (144) Queenscliff (134) Maroochydore (113) Kurrawa (99) Currumbin Beach (92) and Alexandra Headland (91).
If Noosa Heads can hang on and win the prestigious pointscore it will see a changing of the guard in Masters competition, breaking the Northcliffe domination, with the star-studded Gold Coast club winning last year's title on 362 points ahead of Noosa Heads (315.5) with Queenscliff (141.5) third.
Lynch, the individual star from day one when she won six gold medals, increased her tally to 10 when she claimed four more gold in the teams and relays today.
She combined with Alison Pegg to win the 45 years plus double ski and Pegg and Alison Olander to win the 130 years surf teams, board relay and Taplin relay.
Olander and Pegg then teamed up with Julie Trembath to take gold in an all Sunshine Coast finish in the 130 years ski relay which saw Alexandra Headland gold (Elin Ashfield Hedstrom, Alison Lingard, Samantha Williams) take the silver and Noosa Heads B (Alison Fisk, Gina Lynch, Julie Standon) the bronze.
The 52-year-old mother of four's winning streak started early on Monday in the 2km beach run and continued through the surf, board, rescue tube and ironwoman events, then concluded when she teamed with Phoebe
McCubbery to win the board rescue before returning with her Noosa team mates to dominate day two.
In the 150 years Taplin relay, McCubbery combined with Standon and Trembath to win gold ahead of Mooloolaba's Gay Bradley, Susan Hancock and Leanne Hepburn before Robyn Jenkinson came on board to add gold with Trembath in the board rescue and silver with McCubbery and Standon in the board relay.
"If females had been able to compete 30 years ago I'd have been in there," said a delighted Lynch, who only started her surf lifesaving career at 45.
"I did swimming and netball as a youth, then travelled and had (four) children so I really didn't have a chance to get involved before."
But Noosa Head coach and former Ironman great Darren Mercer is certainly glad she did and heaped praise on the "golden girls" and his entire team who stood tall for the white and maroons over two red-hot days of competition.
"Gina was amazing. To win 10 gold in a career is incredible but to win 10 gold in one championship is unbelievable and we are all very proud of Gina and all the girls who led the way," said Mercer, who hosted a special Masters dinner for the Noosa club last night.
"The group have come together as a team this year. They're a great crew and in fact all of our guys dug deep and it will be a credit to them if we can hang on to take the pointscore."
Mercer himself claimed gold alongside fellow Ironman great in Grant Kenny when the "OAMs" combined to take out the 40-44 years double ski before Mercer combined with Sam Keelan and Steve Pullen to finish second to Maroochydore combination of Peter Halfweeg, Kirk Jarrott and Wade Lee in the ski relay.
Mooloolaba also had their fair share of success with Rod Taylor chiming in across the board with two successful days, winning the 55-59 years Ironman and double ski with David Rossiter and the Taplin Relay with Kim Harker and Dave Ogilvie before taking silver in the board relay with Rossiter and John McCubbery and another silver with
Rossiter and Wayne Skeen in the ski relay behind the gold medal-winning Mooloolaba team of Alan Brauer, John Harris and Dave Ogilvie.
Martin Kenny continued his recent winning streak to dominate the 40-44 years single ski for Mooloolaba and will now prepare to help the club when the Open competition starts in earnest tomorrow.