Triathlon: Age groupers show they've got the right stuff, too

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Serious stuff this triathlon and not only for the headline-grabbing elite.

There is nothing "golden oldie" about fronting up with a few thousand dollars' worth of gear and going for it - at whatever age.

And, at the other end of the scale, are the under-23 competitors. They are just one step below the very best, are the face of the future and, in the case of the winners, were gutsy enough to overcome adversity.

In one of the few Olympic sports where world age group championships are decided at the same time and on the same course as the elite crowns, these guys, and gals, mean business.

But even in a place as beautiful as the Lake Hayes-Arrowtown-Millbrook setting, where 30 gold medals were handed out at the ITU world championships, some still found something to moan about.

An Australian woman age-grouper and regular on the international circuit complained on the bus out to the course yesterday about the isolation and the wind.

"I'm used to stepping outside my hotel and into transition," she said. "Here I needed to get a car to get anywhere."

And of the wind during Saturday's race. "Usually I ride at 32 [32km/h] but with the wind I struggled to reach 22."

Really. But isn't that what sport is about? The variables. How boring if all races were held on flat, uninteresting courses as they were in Cancun, Mexico, last year.

Generally, the stunning setting found favour with competitors.

Swimming in wetsuits worth up to $800, riding cycles worth anything from $2000 to the price of a half decent car and running in shoes costing anything up to $250, the age groupers are serious.

In the 25 age group categories (excluding the elite), medals were won by athletes from 13 countries (men) and seven countries (women).

It was hardly surprising New Zealanders and Australians dominated - New Zealand won seven of the male age groups and Australia four - but it was not a complete Australasian benefit.

The United States and Britain collected four golds each in women's races, and Australia took three and New Zealand one.

That one New Zealand women's title had special significance for a Devonport family.

Mum Lynne Pattle beat 38 rivals to win the 50-54 year age group by more than eight minutes; daughter Brooke was 13th (of 55) in the 20-24 category; son Ben 21st behind Terenzo Bozzone in the junior (16-19 years) elite; and dad Alan just inside the top 50 in the competitive 50-54 age group in which 77 finished.

That category was won by evergreen John Hellemans in a time which would have won the younger (45-49 year) age group. Hellemans was more than 10 minutes clear of second-placed Briton Barry Jameson.

One group who did have a legitimate gripe were the "athletes with a disability" who were sent out on the same course as the majority of the age group competitors when, in hindsight, they would have been better suited to the shorter course used by the junior (16-19 years) elite.

While winner American Aaron Scheidies did well enough to get around the course in 2h 24m 49s, there was some real sympathy for Briton Chris Bogan, who battled around in 7h 12m 52s.

The under-23 women's and men's wins were both remarkable. Eighteen months ago, 21-year-old Australian Nikki Egyed was on crutches with a career-threatening stress fracture. A year ago she was barely able to run 20km a week.

Yesterday, she headed an Australian one-two, beating Mirinda Carfrae by 48s despite being only 12th out of the swim. In the men's event, 19-year-old Spaniard Javier Gomez, who suffers from a heart condition, competed for Spain for the first time. Authorities have been reluctant to select him, fearing if he collapsed they could be held responsible.

Yesterday, Gomez was close to the lead on the run and swim before storming home on the run to beat Australian Nicolas Hornman, two Germans and New Zealander Graham O'Grady.