It was the event of the weekend for the Melbourne based triathlon community with athletes heading to the Gatorade Race 5 at St Kilda.
With no wind and pleasant temperatures it made for near perfect race conditions, a contrast to the hot and windy St Kilda race back in January.
Andy White opened his season after a well-earned break post Busselton IM in December. A strong swim, bike and run saw him get through the race well and taking 3rd in his age category. A good opener for the Captain.
Making the crossover from other sports to triathlon can bring with it challenges. Talia Goddard showed she is taking on the new sport and mind set well. First out of the water followed by a much stronger ride and run had her stepping onto the podium in 2nd place. This is great for Talia as there is much room to improve and she is just starting out bring the ride and run training to match her swim.
Naomi Wood put her residual fitness to use from New Zealand Ironman a few weeks ago, piecing together a strong race to cap off a great summer with another podium finish. Woody has been very consistent all season and will look to build on this over the coming months.
David Lloyd continues on being Mr Consistent and had a great day out racing. A good swim and bike set David up for a pb on the run leg and another great result as he builds towards Cairns in June this year.
Kathy Delos Santos may be small in stature but that didn’t stop her from a big pb on the St Kilda course. After taking on her first Olympic distance in January in tough conditions, both consistent training and calmer conditions allowed her to knock off 32min from her January race.
Christine Seymour showed she is great knick ahead of the upcoming half iron distance debut in a few weeks taking 20 odd minutes off her January Olympic distance at the st Kilda course. A great sign for Challenge Melbourne.
A mention too of the athletes that attend the MEC group sessions regularly and raced over the weekend. Les Toth pieced together a strong day across the board as did Peter Smith who is coming off his honeymoon after getting married a few weeks ago. Steph Smith got through her very first Olympic Distance triathlon as did Sebastian Duchene in his first ever tri in the sprint distance.
David Cunningham has been quietly chipping away and making big gains over the past few months a was on the bike for the MS ride in Melbourne. Great to see David back out and about and health improving along the way.
A great weekend and well done to all those that competed.