Auckland's Dan Hoy (coached by Nathan Richmond) and Palmerston North's Lizzie Stannard (coach Will O'Connor) were the best of the young New Zealand triathletes at the Oceania Championships in Penrith, Hoy winning bronze and Stannard finishing 4th in racing today.
Conditions were reasonably warm and humid but not as hot as was anticipated, temperatures were in the high 20's and while challenging, it was much lower than the forecast 37 degrees. Officials brought race times forward to allow for the possibly of the forecast hot weather.
Cam Durno led the coaching team along with Bruce Hunter in working with the Kiwis in Penrith and described a solid day of racing, with many of the New Zealand team experiencing international competition for the first time.
"We raced really well with four girls in the top 17 across the line, Lizzie racing well for 4th, Katherine Badham had the third fastest run to finish a promising 7th. Ainslie was impressive in 11th, given how new to triathlon she is, achieving this on the back of a very strong swim.
"For the boys we had five in the top 18. Dan ran strongly on the last lap coming from about 6th into the bronze medal position. Fynn ran consistently and had one of his best days overall and Tayler was a little off his best today after struggling with a cold during the week. Trent is, like his sister Ainslie, very new to triathlon. He was second out of the water and rode well in the group to eventually finish 17th while Trent Dodds was 18th.
"Trent and Ainslie have swimming backgrounds and have been working with Bruce Hunter to develop their run and bike and have come on really well, having been identified through the National Talent Programme and the Youth Festival we had in Auckland in December 2013 and then selected into the National Talent Squad.
"Today was a great example of making the front pack out of the water and staying with the leaders, draft legal fast racing, on a typical flat and quick ITU style course. Overall it has been a great experience for a talented group of youngsters, all of whom have gained vital international experience."
Kyle Smith pulled a hamstring on the bike when he and Trent Dodds had almost bridged to the front group which also left Trent in a bit of no-man's land. Smith's DNF also meant the NZ 1 Boys team failed to finish in the team category.
Tomorrow is team relay racing, with the number one New Zealand team confirmed as: Lizzie Stannard, Fynn Thompson, Katherine Badham, and Dan Hoy.
Results: Oceania Junior Triathlon Championships
750m swim, 19.8km bike, 5km run
Elite Junior Men
1 Matthew HAUSER (AUS) 52:06:1
2 Calvin QUIRK (AUS) 52:17:0
3 Daniel HOY (NZL) 52:21:3
Plus NZers
7 Fynn THOMPSON (NZL) 52:50:4
12 Tayler REID (NZL) 54:14:4
17 Trent THORPE (NZL) 54:57:8
18 Trent DODDS (NZL) 55:00:9
41 Matthew ROETS (NZL) 57:44:8
45 Henry GAUTREY (NZL) 58:10:7
46 Thomas TRENGROVE (NZL) 58:34:6
50 Nicolo OPORTO (NZL) 1:00:10:7
Kyle Smith (NZL) DNF
Elite Junior Women
1 Kira HEDGELAND (AUS 59:56:7
2 Sophie MALOWIECKI (AUS 1:00:25:9
3 Dimi COVENTRY (AUS 1:00:54:5
Plus NZers
4 Elizabeth STANNARD (NZL) 1:01:36:9
7 Katherine BADHAM (NZL) 1:02:14:3
11 Ainsley THORPE (NZL) 1:02:55:3
17 Emma DANIELS (NZL) 1:03:41:7
24 Rose DILLON (NZL) 1:05:27:1
27 Kaitlyn PRICE (NZL) 1:06:07:4
34 Estafana FOWLER (NZL) 1:12:38:3
Team Challenge
Elite Junior Men
1st NEW SOUTH WALES – 61 points
2nd WA/SA – 98 points
3rd ACT A – 105 points
4th VIC/TAS A – 106 points
5th NZL 2 – 122 points
DNF QLD 1
DNF QLD 2
DNF NZL 1
Elite Junior Women
1st QUEENSLAND 1 – 19 points
2nd NEW ZEALAND – 28 points
3rd VICTORIA – 42 points
4th ACT – 51 points
5th NSW – 57 points
5th QLD 2 – 65 points
6th NZL 2 – 69 points
Individual racing takes place on the Saturday with team racing on the Sunday. For further information including schedules, click here.
Penrith is also hosting the Oceania Paratriathlon Championships at the same venue this weekend. No New Zealanders have made the trip across to compete however.
