It was a perfect way to start summer. A race of nine stages – swim, bike, run, swim, bike, run, swim, bike run. The swim was 200m, bike 6km, run 1km.
The weather was kind, the sea was calm, the field was small, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, with hardened triathletes doing the full nine stages, while less experienced competitors mixed things up in various team formats.
Photos by Janice Coyle.
Featured image: Lorraine Mellors and Renee Hunt had a closely contested battle in the women’s section.
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Tough competition at the front of the field was a feature of Sunday’s Chia Super Sprint Triathlon and Rabbit Island with Jon Linyard and Renee Hunt coming out on top.
The season opener offered a range of options, with the basic format of 200m swim, 6km bike and 1km run, repeated three times. Competitors could complete the entire nine stages, or mix and match with team mates.
Linyard and Josh Barber raced through the first three disciplines, working together on the bike and starting the second swim with Barber ten seconds ahead.
Linyard used his swim skills to make a break and rode away on his own to complete the second triathlon a minute quicker than Barber.
Despite cutting back the lead in the third triathlon, Barber couldn’t bridge the gap. with Linyard winning in 59 minutes 56 seconds and Barber 36 seconds behind.
Rod Harrhy (1.02.22) and Tom Davies (1.07.53) took out third and fourth.
Behind them, an epic battle was unfolding, with Hunt and Lorraine Mellors sticking like glue. After eight stages, the pair went into the final transition together.
Hunt pulled something extra out of the hat to sprint away over the final 1km run to take fifth overall in 1hr 9min 55sec, ahead of Mellors (1.10.20).
Olivia Ward (1.15.16) and Hannah Price (1.20.32) were the next two women to finish.
The club continues competition with swimming in the Port Nelson series on Thursday and the Clements Endurance Swim Series on Sunday. The next triathlon is on December 9.