Henry kicked off the morning with an incredible 25 minutes and 43 seconds time for the 200m swim, 8km bike, 2km Super Sprint beating his nearest competitor by more than three minutes.  He took out the overall win as well as gold in the 14-15 age group – clearly one of the region’s rising talents.

Nash Hay placed second behind Henry in that age group and was the fourth fastest male overall.

In the female field, another talented young club member, Freya Robinson-Mills, was the second fastest competitor with a time of 31:02, also taking silver in the 14-15 age group.

Younger brother, Bryn, also raced with a promising sixth place in the 12-13 age group.

With the wind picking up, the longer Standard distance races (1.5km/40km/10km) was always going to be hard work, but local knowledge came in handy.

The club’s most impressive performance was Jessica Rosskelly’s third place overall in the female field. Rosskelly finished the demanding course in 2 hours and 40 minutes, also taking gold in the 40-44 age group.

Haydn Jervis was the club’s fastest male with a finishing time of 2:12:48, winning the male 40-44 age group. 

Jon-Paul Hilton took gold in the 35-39 age group while Rob Duffy (55-59), Jackie Lyons (35-39), and Tony Lim (65-69) all won age-group silver.

Matt Lewis set a cracking pace in the 750m/20km/5km Sprint race to take out the overall win in 1:01:25. Lewis received his professional licence earlier this year and is in prime shape for the coming season.

The Sprint fielded the largest contingent of club members and it was great to see Josh Henry back in form (spurred on by son Brooklyn?) winning the 40-44 age group. Club president Rod Rose also led by example, winning the 65-69 age group while the unstoppable Marcus Vowels proved age is no barrier to the sport taking out the 70+ division.

Other podium finishers were Zac Sue (second, 20-24), Paula Luke (second, 40-44), Arthur Watson (70+) and Tracey Emerton (third, 35-39).

Rose said it was also great to see Darryl Callaghan back in action in the Sprint after a serious mountain bike accident earlier in the year and Nic McGill lining up for his first TryaTri event.

“Triathlon is a great community that gives everyone support, regardless of age, shape, or how fast they are,” he says. “It was really good to see everyone racing together and having fun.”

Further afield, club members Tony McGowan and Rob Moore competed in triathlons in Noosa and Maitland over the weekend while Daniel Wells recently competed in the gruelling XTerra World Championship in Hawaii. Moore won his 45-49 age group at Maitland while McGowan and Wells put in strong performances against tough competition.

With the triathlon season just starting, Rose said he was keen to encourage other locals to give the sport a go and experience the incredible sense of achievement that comes with crossing the finish line, to the cheers of friends and Club mates.

“Triathlon is a great way to get fit and meet new friends,” he says. “The Tri Club has monthly training sessions at Iluka where you can come along and learn the basics in a supportive environment. We’d love to see more locals training with us and to help them celebrate their first event.”

More details can be found on the Jervis Bay Triathlon Club website or Facebook page.