BROOKLYN Henry’s year to remember in the triathlon arena got even better at the recent llawarra Academy of Sports presentation night, held the Novotel Wollongong North Beach.
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The Nowra Anglican College student was named triathlon athlete of the year – an incredible achievement considering there was more than 180 athletes across more than 20 sports in contention for the awards.
“I was really surprised when I received the award for triathlete of the year through the Illawarra Academy of Sport,” Henry said.
“I am good friends with all of the other triathletes and think that they are all excellent athletes.
“2017 has been an amazing year for me and I feel even more inspired by my success at All Schools and through receiving the IAS award.
“I want to continue to train hard and hopefully get results for the coming triathlon season.
“None of this would be possible without the support of my parents – my training schedule is full on and they are always on hand to take me places and support me.”
The North Nowra athlete’s strong year started at the Penrith Regatta Centre on February 27, when he came first in the All Schools Triathlon junior individual division.
“I went into All Schools this year a little nervous due to me not going terribly well at the Big Husky Triathlon one week earlier,” he said.
“My swim leg at All Schools was probably one of the best swims I had ever had in a race situation - most of the swim I had been drafting off people to preserve my energy for the bike and run leg to come.
“My transition from swim to bike was excellent and I thank my dad for that, due to him teaching me on how to improve on my 'flying start' onto my bike and also how to be faster in transition from each leg.
“On my ride, I managed to pull away from the rest of field, getting me to dismount off the bike knowing that I would be far in front of the rest of the competitors on the run.
“I was able to hold my lead on the run to place first.”
He finished the 400m swim/10km ride/3km run course with a time of 39:23, edging out William Cooper (40:19) and Luke McLean (40:37) for the title.
“I did the swim in 5:49 minutes, the ride in 19:33 minutes and the run in 14 minutes,” Henry said.
“I was extremely happy when I won but I was also excited to see the rest of the competitors come over the line.”
The 14-year-old is now ramping up preparations for another big summer of triathlon events.
“I have been accepted as a member of the Triathlon NSW talent identification squad which is going to give me some amazing training and development opportunities,” he said.
“I will be heading off to Runaway Bay, Queensland in December for the first race in the Super Sprint Series for the 2017/2018 season.”