 Daniel Hoy(Photo: westlake.school.nz; click to enlarge) |
New Zealand enjoyed success at the Australian Junior Sprint Triathlon series in Penrith over the weekend, with the group of young triathletes banking some invaluable experience and winning the mixed team relay event on the Sunday for good measure.
In the Junior Mixed Relay raced on Sunday, all three New Zealand teams finished inside the top ten, with the combination of Jaimee Leader, Tayler Reid, Lizzie Stannard and Dan Hoy taking out the honours ahead of Queensland and Western Australian combinations over the super-sprint event, with each athlete completing a swim, bike and run before tagging their team mate.
All three New Zealand teams did very well, with Mathew Manning also taking part despite being ill, competing in a composite team with 3 Australians. The same illness kept Manning off the start line in the individual race on the Saturday.
Tri NZ Talent Development Coach Tim Brazier described a superb and well organised event.
"This was a great experience for our young New Zealand group and would not have been possible without the great support and organisation of Tri Australia and Tri New South Wales who put on a great event.
"The numbers were great and the racing provided great experience for our young triathletes, in particular the teams race which focused very much on delivering on their processes before tagging the next teammate in the event."
New Zealand Teams – results (21 teams)
1st: Jaimee Leader (Palmerston North), Tayler Reid (Gisborne), Lizzie Stannard (Palmerston North), Dan Hoy (Auckland)
9th: Steffie Holcroft (Hamilton), Fynn Thompson (Queenstown), Josie Clow, Kyle Smith (Taupo)
10th: Nicole van der Kaay (Taupo), Liam Ward (Auckland), Katherine Badham, James Wright (Whanganui)
In the individual Junior (16 to 19 years) races on the Saturday (750m swim; 20km bike; 5km run), Tayler Reid (Gisborne) was 6th home, Fynn Thompson (Queenstown) 9th, Dan Hoy (Auckland) 10th, Liam Ward (Auckland) was 16th and Kyle Smith (Taupo) 36th in a race that doubled as a Youth Olympic Games qualifier.
James Wright (Whanganui) did not finish the event due to a puncture on the bike leg and Matthew Manning (Auckland) was unwell so did not start.
In the Junior Girls event, Elizabeth Stannard (Palmerston North) was 5th and Jaimee Leader (Palmerston North) 7th, Steffie Holcroft (Hamilton) 11th, Josie Clow 14th and Katherine Badham 26th.
Nicole van der Kaay was actually first New Zealander over the line in 5th place but was disqualified for not taking a penalty imposed for a transition violation. Despite the DQ the Taupo triathlete raced superbly, backing up from strong performances at home in 2013.
Full individual and team race results
The New Zealanders in Penrith were: Dan Hoy (age 15, Auckland, coached by Nathan Richmond), Matt Manning (15, Auckland, Brett Reid), Tayler Reid (17, Gisborne, Stephen Sheldrake), Kyle Smith (16, Taupo, Cameron Durno), Fynn Thompson (17, Queenstown, Val Burke), Liam Ward (16, Auckland, Brett Reid), James Wright (16, Whanganui, Gareth Wright), Steffie Holcroft (18, Hamilton, Syd Cummings), Jaimee Leader (16, Palmerston North, Samantha Warriner), Lizzie Stannard (16, Palmerston North, Will O'Connor) and Nicole van der Kaay (17, Taupo, Cameron Durno), plus Josie Clow (Auckland) and Katherine Badham (Auckland) who made their own way to Penrith to compete.
Please note all of the triathletes excepting Tayler Reid, Fynn Thompson, Josie Clow, Steffie Holcroft and Nicole van Der Kaay are eligible for the Youth Olympics.
