Noosa Triathlon Tri Nation Squad Report

The official Noosa Triathlon weekend kicked off on Thursday evening with the opening night at the RACV Noosa Resort. Tri Nation coaches Mark Turner and Tim Franklin were the guests of Smiling for Smiddy and made the most of the opportunity of chatting with pro athletes including Jan Frodeno and celebrity guests including Zoe from The Bachelor 😉

The big announcement of the night was the change of course slatted for 2015 with the swim to be held in the ocean in front of the surf club. The swim course change has certainly been welcomed throughout the squad. We hear some old hands who have been missing from Noosa for a few years have even been inspired to come back and have a go on what is surely going to add some fantastic scenary to the course.

The official Tri Nation program kicked off at 6:00am on Saturday with a squad ride from the tent. The Tri Nation cycling kit was sported by a number of athletes and feedback was that they were not only comfortable but looked fantastic! The squad breakfast at Cafe Le Monde finished off the ride and we’ll certainly head back there next year for what was a relaxed and easy option.

To ensure we all didn’t get too relaxed before the big race drama hit on Saturday afternoon with the strong winds causing one of the tent legs to snap. Huge thanks to our dedicated squad members Jeremy Bridges, Michael Curtis, Rebecca Saunders, Derrin Cason and Angelique Brearley for their awesome job at emergency tent repairs plus Shane Bamkin for helping us get the tent up in the first place. It would have been a tough day in the sun on Sunday without you guys!

With the dramas all sorted and the tent still standing on race day we were finally ready to watch everyone race the triathlon. For the first time the team at Smiddy had their own wave start and the blue suits looked very impressive leading most age groupers around the course. Congratulations to our athletes who fundraised and raced for Smiddy: Andrew Hancox, Brian Brady, Hannah Bryne and Tessa McEvoy.

While it was a steamy day in Noosa all our first time Olympic distance athletes had a great time and some impressive results for their first time out. Our first time athletes were Andrew Hancox, David Hills, Gordon Price, Kevin Panahon, Michael Curtis, Pamela Ring and Rebecca Saunders. For many of these guys the swim leg has been the most daunting aspect and Gordon, Pamela and Rebecca in particular have come a long way. All three have been consistently turning up to the swim sessions week in and week out and their efforts at getting in well under 40 minutes are to be comended.

At the pointy end of the field we had the girls smoking their way around the course. Gabby Kukla produced a 2:22 to win the 20-24 age catorgory while Hannah Hogan was in a crazy fast 30-34 age group with her 2:17 bringing her home in 5th place. Gold Coast coach Angelique Brearley keeps getting faster each time with a 2:22 earning her 5th place in the competitive 25-29 age group.

Full race results will be up on the website shortly. However we also have to mention some big PBs that were achieved over the weekend. As highlighted at the after party Brian Brady’s hard training paid off with a 47 minute PB and a time of 2:41. Both Hannah Byrne and Brett Allen also came in with over 20 minute PBs and times of 2:36 and 2:54 respectively.

All up is was a great weekend in Noosa and finished off in style with the Hawaii themed after party. Thanks to Jeremy and Sam for their hard work with the decorations and Scody for their input and prizes on the night.