GOLDEN DAY FOR ALI AND BRODIE AS COOLANGATTA TURNS IT ON

AUSTRALIAN SURF LIFE SAVING, October 14, 2012: Dreams of winning Australia's toughest surf lifesaving event came true when Ali Day, won the 12th running of the men's Coolangatta Gold today and Brodie Moir, who claimed the women's title – both first time winners of Australia’s iconic Ironman race.

Rising star Day led a Mooloolaba clean sweep of the 45km open men's race, while Moir of North Burleigh beat home defending champion Courtney Hancock for the biggest win of her career.

Day, 22, was a clear winner ahead of training partners Alex Tibbits and Josh Minogue, while the women's race was much closer, with Moir racing away from Hancock in the final kilometre.

"This is something I've always dreamed of," Day said. "I've never won something this big."

Moir's reaction was almost identical.

"I've never won such a big event, it's really special," the 26-year-old said.

The revamped race that began as a backdrop for a movie in 1984, started and finished in Coolangatta for the first time today and was raced at a sizzling pace in perfect Gold Coast conditions, with little wind and small waves.

Day, the runner-up in this year's Kellogg's Nutri Grain series and having his first crack at the gruelling endurance test, took charge after finishing the opening 23km ski leg alongside Michael Booth of Northcliffe.

He drew away from Booth in the run from Miami to Burleigh Heads, opened a dominating advantage on the swim to North Burleigh.

From there he had a stranglehold on the race in the run back to Burleigh, the 5.1km board paddle to Currumbin and the 10km soft sand run to the finish line, and won by more than five minutes in three hours 47 minutes and 25 seconds.

Tibbits and Minogue both improved in the final run to fill the minor placings ahead of Booth and make it a trifecta for Mooloolaba and their outstanding coach, 1991 Coolangatta Gold winner Michael King.

"I'll never forget this day," Day said after claiming the $20,000 first prize.

"You don't really do this race for the money, you do it for the title.

"There were six or seven guys in the field that could have won and everything worked perfectly for me.

"This is the one I've always wanted to win. It's hard going into the race as favourite and I'm so happy to have won. I'm almost speechless."

Day was quick to pay tribute to King, who he has been working with for just over 12 months after moving north to the Sunshine Coast from the Warilla Barrack Point club south of Sydney.

"He's the best coach in the world," he said.

"He drills mental toughness into us and has been there with me for every step of my preparation.

"It's also great to train with Alex and Josh, as well as the likes of Matt Poole and Kendrick Louis. It's very competitive but it pushes us all along."

King was smiling broadly after the race and said the result was just reward for Day, Tibbits, Minogue and fifth place Matt Bevilacqua.

"Everything went to plan for us today," he said.

Moir's plans could barely have worked better as a tough 15-week training program targeted at the 32km women's race paid big dividends.

In the best shape of her career, Moir pushed the go button while running along Kirra Beach with Courtney Hancock and the defending champion did not have an answer.

The key leg of the race for 26-year-old was the 5.1km board paddle from Burleigh to Currumbin.

She went into the board leg in third place, with Courtney Hancock well clear in the lead, but fought back in her strongest discipline to close the gap and reach Currumbin with renewed hope.

"I thought Courtney had made a mistake letting me close the gap," Moir said.

After waiting for her chance she powered to the lead about a kilometre from the finish.

"The best I've ever done before was second at the nationals this year in the board race, so this is by far the biggest race I've ever won," she said.

"I've trained for 15 weeks aiming for this race and I felt really good in the run.

"When I tried to sprint, I knew if Courtney could go with me she would probably win but I was able to get away from her.”

Moir hopes to start a teaching career next year and is not sure if she will be back to defend her title, but Courtney Hancock is already talking of coming back in 12 months with the aim of returning to the top of the dais.

"I''m a bit disappointed coming second, to be honest," Hancock said.

"To lose in the last couple of hundred metres is disappointing.

"I felt really good the whole way and I knew my fitness was OK but I just couldn't go with Brodie at the end.

"I'll have a look at how the race sent and see how I can improve for next year."

Meanwhile Newport’s rising star Max Brooks showed his enormous potential when he won the under 19s Gold from Bulli’s Lachlan O’Grady with South Australia’s Matthew Zuill from West Beach finishing third.

While the under 19s went to Alexandra Headland’s Alyssa Bull who has capped a great month after qualifying for the Ironman Series at Tugun last month. The Shane Dalziel/Janelle Elford coached 16-year-old, held off Gold Coast pair Olivia Hall from North Burleigh and Currumbin’s Brooke Neumann.

It was an all NSW finish in the open men’s short course with Cronulla’s Jake Little taking the Gold from Scott Sewell (Byron Bay) with Maroubra’s Jack Walsh third.

In the Masters divisions:

·         Point Leo Victoria’s Ben Marshall broke the 30-39 years stranglehold held for the past three years by Elouera’s Brent McKinnon with just over a minute separating the pair with Tasmanian Luke O’Garey from Burnie third.
·         Fairhaven Victoria’s Paul Patrick took the 40-49 years from Craig Burke (Warilla-Barrack Point) and Carl Greenhalgh (Surfers Paradise) third.
·         Mooloolaba’s Kim Harker beat a strong over 50s division from the ever-present Glen Lawrence from Byron Bay with Ian Wright (Townsville, Picnic Bay) third with visiting former British and Welsh Ironman champion Stuart Sherman in eighth.
·         Michelle Kent from Redhead, NSW won the female 30-39 division from Mooloolaba’s Nadine McCubbery with Tenile Benjamin (Alexandra Headland) third.
·         The 40 years plus went to Heli Murray from Byron Bay from Kimberley Fleming from Bulli with Kym O’Halloran (Pambula) third.

In the teams events, TeamWhitten (Northcliffe) won the open male from Team Sputnik with the Mermen third; the under 19 men went to Alexandra Headland, from the Black Swans with the Coast Busters third; the open women to the Maroochy Swans, from Team Kozii and Girls Go fast; the Under 19 girls to Noosa Girls from Team Wanda while the Mixed Teams was won by Team Mermaid from BHMP Groms with Sydney’s Finest third.

RESULTS (TOP TEN)
2012 Coolangatta Gold: Sunday October 14: Gold Coast: Long Course: Men:
Open:
Alastair Day 03:47:25 Alex Tibbits 03:52:33 Josh Minogue 03:54:33 Michael Booth 03:55:29 Matt Bevilacqua 04:00:38 Tom Trembath 04:01:32 Sam Fuller 04:01:48 Cameron Gordon 04:03:25 Jake Nicholson 04:05:55 Daniel Booth 04:11:43

30-39:
Ben Marshall 04:20:07 Brent McKinnon 04:21:23 Luke OGarey 04:22:03 Ryan Flaherty 04:30:18 Joe Dougherty 04:33:15 Julian Norton-Smith 04:35:17 Gavin Johns 04:40:57 Scott Tierney 04:42:37 Paul Cromack 04:43:51 Bradley Cummins 04:52:52

40-49:
Paul Patrick 04:33:02 Craig Burke 04:33:36 Carl Greenhalgh 04:37:03 Michael Manton 04:43:19 Travis Minns 04:52:47 Roger Souter 04:57:21 Christopher Walker 04:57:34 Peter Hall    05:01:08 Dean Blond 05:03:17 Craig McDonald 05:04:27

Short Course: Men:
Open:
Jake Little 03:21:06 Scott Sewell 03:37:37 Jake Walsh 03:41:10 Timothy Elsmore 03:53:18 Paul Davis 03:56:58 Christopher Morgan 03:59:36 Nick Edmonds 03:59:37 Brett Gillies 04:00:17 Shane Baird 04:05:47 Mick Herden 04:06:20

50+:
Kim Harker 03:28:35 Glen Lawrence 03:31:46 Ian Wright 03:38:54 Matthew Braban 03:42:27 Don Marsh 03:50:23 Anthony O'Connor 03:56:55 Derry McGaffin 03:59:31 Stuart Sherman 04:01:05 Peter Hynes 04:02:48 Gavin Stewart 04:03:51

U-19:
Max Brooks 03:08:09 Lachlan O'Grady 03:14:00 Benjamin Zuill 03:15:00 Cooper Halligan 03:15:59 Lachlan Reid 03:17:51 Fletcher Davies 03:18:06 Lindsey Lawry 03:20:50 Jye Rogers 03:21:40 Hayden Williams 03:21:45 Zachary Orchard 03:22:36

Women:
Open: Brodie Moir 2:58.13 Courtney Hancock 2:58.51 Bonnie Hancock 3:01.33 Hayley Bateup 3:04.47 Tara Coleman 3:06.25 Kelly-Ann Perkins 3:06.40 Jordan Mercer 3:08.42 Teisha Jenkins 3:10.54 Crystal Maruna 3:17.12
30-39:
Michelle Kent 03:53:45 Nadine McCubbery 04:01:44 Tamiel Benjamin 04:04:23 Simone Elliott 04:05:32 Paula Stone 04:12:26 Ruth Kelly 04:17:04            Melanie Driscoll      04:18:18 Dana Richards 04:18:47 Allison Bonetig 05:01:47 Jane Tranberg 05:09:23

40+:
Heli Murray 03:52:28 Kimberley Fleming 04:17:12 Kym O'Halloran 04:23:42 Jodi Kappler 05:01:03

U-19:
Alyssa Bull 03:28:06 Olivia Hall 03:37:23 Brooke Neumann 03:38:31 Dahlas Rogers 03:40:50 Lara Moses 03:43:44 Brooke Eacott 03:45:08 Riley Maynard 03:45:23 Peta Newbold      03:50:55 Sally Watson 04:17:21 Carla Westwood 04:21:08

FULL RESULTS
http://www.multisportaustralia.com.au/RaceTecResults/Default.aspx?CId=1&RId=744&EId=1

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