The night of Tuesday, November 5, saw the first round of Goulburn Aquatic Centre's aquathon series, and the roll up of competitors has seen this as the best start to a season in many years.
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Despite following on from Melbourne Cup festivities, over 50 athletes from a wide range of age groups took part with good numbers contesting each of the four distance divisions.
Included among the competitors was a 74-year-old as well as two knee replacement recipients and a hip replacement patient, all of whom proved that age and injuries are no hindrance when determination is a factor.
There was also a near record attendance of youngsters, which bodes well for the future.
Round one is traditionally used by the triathlon club to set handicaps for the upcoming season and to allow the athletes to get a feel for the race, however not all competitors took it easy with some impressive times set for this early in the season.
For the novice distance race (100m/2km) Oscar Moss blasted out of the blocks but only narrowly beat Ava McIntyre by five seconds with sister Stella McIntyre a further minute back.
In the sprint distance race (200m/4km) Chris Leah and Evan Goad were the standouts, but young Violet Ottley was impressive in her first attempt at the longer distance since stepping up from novice.
The intermediate distance race (400m/4km) had a very strong field of 18 starters, and it was the closest event with only five minutes separating first from the bulk of the field.
Gavin Moroney and Rodney McWhirter were the fastest on the day, and Nadine Moroney was a mere one second back in third.
In the long distance race (600m/6km) Mark Gibson blew the field away in his first outing in many years.
He flew around the course in an impressive 35:28 with Kurt Warn just under a minute back.
Reigning Handicap Champion from last season Andy Oberg was third with newcomer Robert Wiggins pushing him for the first 2 kms of the run.
Olivia Stutchbury was first home for the ladies.
Together with those named earlier, the club also welcomes to our sporting family new competitors including Cathy and Jayde Butz, Danielle Coleman, Llewellyn Davies, Jessica and Simon Rice, Jacqueline Holland, Clare and Owen Edwards, Pierre Paturel not to mention the competitors who've returned after some time out of the sport including Grace Martin, Sam White and Cathy McCarthy.
Coupled with the competitors who've signed up but have not yet raced , the year looks to be set for success with the highest participation in years.
For more information about the aquathon series, please visit the Goulburn Aquatic Centre on Deccan Street.
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