Nowra-born para-triathlete Jonathan Goerlach has been rewarded for his remarkable season, which has him on the verge of being selected in the country's team for Tokyo, by claiming one of Triathlon Australia's annual awards, which were presented at Monday's virtual celebration of champions.
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Goerlach, who is a strong chance to be named for his first-ever Paralympics when the squad gets announced in the coming days, was named the 2020 recipient of the male para-triathlon performance of the year award, after a stellar season of racing culminating in a gold medal at the 2020 Devonport ITU World Paratriathlon Series.
"Thanks for the recognition Triathlon Australia," Goerlach, 38, said.
"I couldn't have done any of this without my guide Sam Douglas steering me around the course in each of these races."
The Bomaderry High School alumnus and his guide Douglas, who recently completed a training race at Port Douglas' Oceania Cup, finished the qualification period, which ended on Monday, in fourth place on the PTVI rankings, behind Great Britain's Dave Ellis and Spanish duo Hector Catal Laparra and Jose Luis Garca Serrano.
Other elite athletes recognised by Triathlon Australia on Monday included Sarah Crowley (female performance of the year), Jake Birtwhistle (male performance of the year), Lauren Parker (female para-triathlon performance of the year award) and Lorcan Redmond (Chris Hewitt emerging athlete award).
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