TRG athletes have been busy racing in a vast array of events, from the local sprint triathlon series, to the National Junior races, and long course triathlon events to multi-day adventure races! It keeps coach Julie Tedde busy, but shows what a versatile program she runs, within TRG!
Nationally, athletes have been competing in Standard distance races, hoping to earn enough points to gain selection into the Australian team, for the World Championships on the Gold Coast in September. Jenny Kelly and Char Durand are two such athletes who stand in high stead, with a 2nd and 12th respectively, following the Canberra race. Also looking to gain World Championships selection is Mitch Couper who raced, and won his age group in Tasmania, and was 3rd over the line, in a very tough field.
On the same weekend, Julie travelled with her four junior athletes, to Adelaide – two athletes were first timers competing in this level event, but all four acted like seasoned competitors. Day 1 of racing was an individual event, with all athletes racing hard, and having to dig deep. Their places in Day 1 formed the basis of the selection into the Australian Mixed Relay Championships, where Charlie Lamont and Ebony Francis were in Victorian Team A, who finished 2nd, and achieving Victoria’s first medal in 5 year, in a National Championship event.
Charlie Lamont and Shakira Simmons then backed up a big weekend of racing with the Victorian School Championships, with Charlie winning his AG, and Shakira coming 3rd!
At the opposite end of the spectrum, TRG had a large contingency at Geelong 70.3, with about 20 competitors, and a large number of supporters! There were 3 athletes in the top 3, on a unexpectedly warm day! Up North on the same weekend, there was another World Championships selection race, with Jenny Kelly, Sharon Bolger and Elizabeth Dornom all gaining valuable points. In colder conditions, Gavin Brown was strong in the bi-annual Alpine Ascent, winning his AG, and coming 11th overall.
Ironman NZ was the next big event on the calendar with Daniel Oldham, Aaron Jamieson and Darrell Thomas all having great races, and PB’s to match!
5 athletes also took part in the Oxfam Trailwalker (4 in one team, and 1 in another). Our TRG team (above), Thorn between Three Roses, with Callum Crawford and Madison Taylor, finished 2nd across the line! They were supported all day by Bernadette Dornom, who has just finished her epic Godzone adventure. With an expected 10 days of racing, and a few sleepless nights, this was going to be a huge task. Unfortunately, her team had to pull out around Day 5, after one of the team members fell ill.
Finally, we have had many athletes competing locally, and training hard for events such as the Los Angeles Marathon, 2XU series, the Great Ocean Road Marathon, Ironman Australia, Challenge Melbourne and Ironman Cairns.