ECKSTEIN AND MARRIOTT DOMINATE COOLANGATTA GOLD

coolangatta gold caine eckstein mens open winner photo harvie allison1.jpgNovember 7: Caine Eckstein and Alicia Marriott have conquered one of the toughest ever Coolangatta Gold's on the Gold Coast today.

Organisers ordered a "deep water start" for the opening ski leg after a strong sou-east wind overnight created a testing 1.5m swell at Kurrawa.

It meant a tough paddle for all ski competitors heading into the southerly chop and for veteran Dean Mercer it was tougher than most after he missed the start by 10 minutes.

With Mercer forced to use all of his dogged tenacity just to complete the course, the day belonged to Eckstein and Marriott.

Eckstein confirmed his status as the "King of the Gold" winning his fourth Gold and his third in succession in arguably the most dominant performance in the 25-year-history of the event.

The 24-year-old won by 15 minutes from young guns Cory Hill and Josh Minogue, with Mercer, in fourth place.

Eckstein dominated from start to finish, duelling with Northcliffe youngster Hill on the 23 kilometre ski paddle to Coolangatta before opening up a commanding lead on the 3.5km swim to Bilinga.

In the end it was Eckstein in 4hrs 11 mins and 41 seconds who crossed the line in first place ahead of Hill (4:27.12), Minogue (Mooloolaba) 4:28.35 and Mercer (Northcliffe) 4:35.06.

In the women's event it was Marriott (3:21.30) who secured her third Gold victory to equal Hayley Bateup as the only woman to win the event three times, with a convincing victory over Northcliffe pair Courtney Hancock (3:24.45) and Liz Pluimers (3:25.15).

In other events:

  • Brent McKinnon (Elouera) won the over 30 years Masters category from Benjamin Hewitt (City of Perth) and public entrant Matt Thistlethwaite.
  • Paul Lemmon (Terrigal) 4:57.01 won his first Coolangatta Gold in the Masters over 40s division from Shane Whittaker (North Cronulla) 4:59.40 and Jeff Lemarseny (Noosa) 5:11.56.
  • Sydney Northern Beaches club Freshwater confirmed its overall dominance, successfully defending its open men's and women's teams events.
  • Bundaberg born Riley McGregor (Northcliffe) added his name to the under 19s trophy in 3:01.55
  • Manly's Australian Champion Lifesaver Melinda Pelly defended her Masters Women's title in 4 hrs 06.32 while;
  • Currumbin Vikings Green and Mooloolaba won the respective under 19 men's and women's teams titles.

RESULTS:

Coolangatta Gold 2010: Kurrawa: Gold Coast: Open Men: Caine Eckstein (Northcliffe) 4:11.41 Cory Hill (Northcliffe) 4:27.12 Josh Minogue (Mooloolaba) 4:28.35 Dean Mercer (Northcliffe) 4:35.06 Mark Simpson (Cronulla) 4:36.14 Jack Hansen (Mooloolaba) 4:37.53 Michael Lewandowski (Tugun) 4:41.23 Scotty Higgins (Bronte) 4:42.04 Chris Moors (Kurrawa) 4:43.43 Ben Squiers (Wanda) 4:44.55

Open Women: Alicia Marriott (Mooloolaba) 3:21.30 Courtney Hancock (Northcliffe) 3:24.45 Liz Pluimbers (Northcliffe) 3:25.15 Bonnie Hancock (Northcliffe) 3:27.66 Tara Coleman (Maroubra) 3:31.05 Jordan Mercer (Noosa) 3:32.37 Sheree Merryful (Northcliffe) 3:33.49 Danielle Allen (Alexandra Headland) 3:24.38 Harriet Brown (Northcliffe) 3:34.31 Tenille Devine (Tallebudgera) 3:36.36

Masters 30-39: Brent McKinnon (Elouera) Benjamin Hewitt (City of Perth) Matt Thistlethwaite Jon Webber Stephen Kernutt Pete Wells Stuart Colquhoun (Public) Adam Morley Brett Wortman Mark Etchells (Alexandra Headland)

Masters 40+: Paul Lemmon (Terrigal) 4:57.01 Shane Whittaker (North Cronulla) 4:59.40 Jeff Lemarseny (Noosa) 5:11.56 Darren Schott (Maroubra) 5:19.58 Michael Chan (Currumbin) 5:23.41 Mick Daly (North Burleigh) 5:25.41 Matthew Braban (Public) 5:26.45 Steve Allan (North Entrance) 5:27.30 Rupert Wyness (Seacliff) 5:32.15 Scott Braby (Sunshine Beach) 5:36.29