Youth and Junior athletes from across Australia have put their skills on show with the first round of the Australian Junior & Youth Triathlon Series (AJYTS) taking over Runaway Bay, Gold Coast over the weekend.
Battling challenging and tropical weather conditions, athletes competed in three events across the Super Sprint Race Weekend for points, with the Sunday’s Grand Finals worth double points towards Series standings.
Gold Coast girls Tara Sosinski and Jazi Coventry shone on home soil throughout the weekend, with their consistent performances earning them 1st and 3rd respectively in the overall Junior Female standings for their efforts. While the ACT’s Chloe Bateup put together a quality weekend of racing, including second in the Grand Final to secure the silver medal in the standings.
In a highly competitive Junior Male field, strengthened by visiting Japanese Triathlon Union junior athletes, Oscar Dart claimed top honours in the Junior Male standings. The Victorian put together a stellar weekend that saw him take home wins in all but one event across the weekend. New South Welshmen James Olson-Keating and Mateo Mendoza rounded out the podium with 2nd and 3rd respectively following a strong weekend for the pair.
Queensland demonstrated its dominance amongst the younger ranks, with both the Youth Male and Youth Female podiums made up of entirely Queensland athletes.
Eva Parish and Aspen Anderson notched up another two podium places for the locals. The Gold Coast duo took home 1st and 2nd in the Youth Female standings respectively after impressing throughout the weekend. Brisbane-based Sophia McCarthy completed the Youth Female podium for Queensland, with a bronze medal finish in the Grand Final helping secure her a position towards the top of the leaderboard.
The Sunshine Coast’s Peyton Craig took control of the Youth Male, recording wins in every Youth Male event of the weekend to finish well on top of the standings. Brisbane’s Sebastian Wingad and Ethan Close also had quality performances throughout the weekend, with their strong finishes in the Grand Final earning them enough points to take home 2nd and 3rd in the overall Youth Male standings, respectively.
The AJYTS Series will now head to Canberra’s Capital Trilogy on January 18-19 for the second round of racing, as well as the National Mixed Relay Junior and Youth Championships.
Australian Junior & Youth Triathlon Series
Youth Male
1. Peyton Craig (QLD)
2. Sebastian Wingad (QLD)
3. Ethan Close (QLD)
Youth Female
1. Eva Parish (QLD)
2. Aspen Anderson (QLD)
3. Sophia McCarthy (QLD)
Junior Female
1. Tara Sosinski (QLD)
2. Chloe Bateup (ACT)
3. Jazi Coventry (QLD)
Junior Male
1.Oscar Dart (VIC)
2.James Olson-Keating (NSW)
3.Mateo Mendoza (NSW)
Words originally published by Triathlon Australia. Image Credit: Claire Radford Photography.
