NORTH Nowra's Brooklyn Henry proved hard work pays off with a stunning win at Sunday's Wollongong Triathlon.
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Despite still racing as a junior, Henry took out the overall win in the sold-out standard distance race, beating his nearest competitor by more than two minutes.
Henry is a dual winner of Jervis Bay Triathlon Club's junior of the year award and showed both dedication and potential in his first standard distance (1.5km swim/40km bike, 10km run) win.
With a time of 1:56:18, Henry was one of just two athletes to break the two-hour barrier and he easily won the 15-19 age group, setting himself up as an athlete to watch in the future.
Jervis Bay Triathlon Club almost scored the double with fellow club member Haydn Jervis just missing out on first place in the sprint race.
Jervis, who won the national aquabike championship for his age group in February, was just four seconds behind the overall sprint race winner finishing the 750m/20km/5km race in 1:02:37.
He took gold in the 45-49 age group.
While Jervis Bay fielded only a relatively small contingent at Wollongong, their results were impressive.
St Georges Basin physiotherapist Bill Stahlhut, also competed in the standard distance finishing second in the 55-59 age group.
Darryl Callaghan, Rod Rose and Mandy Meredith all won age group silver medals in the sprint distance while Sile Crowe took bronze and Elisha Bell just missed out on the medals in fourth position in the 35-39 age group.
In the shorter super sprint event, Gray Parkes won the 60-69 age group while Zac Peters placed a credible sixth in the hotly contested 12-13 age group.
Club president Rod Rose said the cold and windy conditions made racing tricky on the bike leg, though the new M-shaped swim course inside the harbour kept athletes protected from the worst of the wind.
He said the club is now looking forward to the Triathlon NSW Club Championships in Forster next month, where both the champion NSW clubs and the winner of the South Coast Interclub Series will be decided.
He said while Jervis Bay is currently leading the interclub ladder, the end of the series will be tight and he is hoping to get a strong contingent of members along to the end-of-season event.
With club members ranging in age from teenagers to retirees, Rose says triathlon is a sport for anyone prepared to give it a go.
The club holds monthly training sessions where newcomers can try the sport in a supportive environment.
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