NSW’s best surf sports competitors have kicked off the season in extremely tough conditions at the 2010 NSW Endurance Championships, held at Palm Beach on Saturday.

Strong winds and large surf made it a gruelling hit out for the state’s Ironmen and women, some of whom used the longer format races as a warm up for the Coolangatta Gold and the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain series. 

In a dramatic race end, Tom Atkinson (Queenscliff) found the cold conditions too much with his legs cramping up at the end of the ski race. He and Ali Day both hit the beach at the same time, but Tom collapsed back into the surf and it took him a few goes at getting back up before he stumbled across the line. 

In the Open Ironwoman, KNG series competitors Amy Nurthen (Terrigal) and Tara Coleman (Maroubra) battled it out for gold, with Nurthen just in front. Joanne Baxter (Terrigal) was third. 

Former champion ironwoman Candice Falzon, back from WA and now racing with Bondi, had a great day, entering just about every event and coming 1^st in the Swim and 2^nd in the Ski and Beach run events. Falzon says she loves being back in Sydney among family and friends and was very happy with her results today, as she has not been well recently. 

 “I’m looking forward to a good season and my aim is to stay consistent. It’s great to see NSW surf sports starting to get strong again and I’m hoping to hold out for this season, which is a long season.”  

Club Pointscore

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Shannon Eckstein won a record-equalling fifth Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman title at North Cronulla today while Alicia Marriott became the first woman to win the triple crown of the sport’s major events.

Eckstein (Northcliffe) and Marriott (Mooloolaba) emerged from the energy-sapping, hot conditions to claim the overall titles in the $250,000 series.

Eckstein, the defending champion, won a furious sprint to the finish ahead of his nearest challenger in the series, Hugh Dougherty, to secure a comfortable eight-point margin in the series pointscore.

Corey Jones (Metropolitan Caloundra), who was inches away from being eliminated in the first race of today’s three-race ‘Eliminator’ format, pulled out his best performance of the season to place third.

Olympic swimmer Ky Hurst (Kurrawa) capped his return to Ironman racing with fifth place in the final and third overall in the series behind Eckstein and Dougherty.

2010 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman Series Final: North Cronulla

Round 5Shannon Eckstein (Northcliffe) Hugh Dougherty (Tugun) Corey Jones (Met Caloundra) Nathan Smith (Northcliffe) Ky Hurst (Kurrawa) Rhys Drury (Dicky Beach) Peirce Leonard (Northcliffe) Alaistar Day (Warilla-Barrack Point) Josh Blair (Swansea Belmont) Dylan Newbiggin (Mooloolaba)

Men

Women
Elizabeth Pluimers (Northcliffe) Kristyl Smith (Northcliffe) Courtney Hancock (Northcliffe) Alicia Marriott(Mooloolaba) Allira Richardson (Mooloolaba) Naomi Flood (Manly) Maddison Prior (Warilla-Barrack Point) Rebecca Creedy (Met Caloundra) Hayley Bateup (Kurrawa) Amy Nurthen (Terrigal)

Series Pointscore
Men
Shannon Eckstein (Northcliffe) 119 Hugh Dougherty (Tugun) 111 Ky Hurst (Kurrawa) 97 Rhys Drury (Dicky Beach) 90 Corey Jones (Met Caloundra) 88 Alaistar Day (Warilla-Barrack Point) 82 Nathan Smith (Northcliffe) 81 Peirce Leonard (Northcliffe) 79 Dylan Newbiggin (Mooloolaba) 67 Matt Poole (Mooloolaba) 64 Cory Hill (Northcliffe) 56 Sam Hamilton (Tugun) 55 Chris Allum (Cronulla) 51 James Stewart (North Burleigh) 44 Mark Simpson (Cronulla) 40 Jono Stock (Manly) 29 Daniel Moodie (Northcliffe) 26 Josh Blair (Swansea Belmont) 24 Hayden Allum (Cronulla) 12 Alex Tibbits (Mooloolaba) 11 Mitchell Miller (Mooloolaba) 11 Josh Minogue (Mooloolaba) 8 Hayden White (Warilla-Barrack Point) 6 Cameron Gordon (Northcliffe) 5 Sam Hunt (North Burleigh) 4

Women
Alicia Marriott (Mooloolaba) 106 Elizabeth Pluimers (Northcliffe) 103 Naomi Flood (Manly) 100 Kristyl Smith (Northcliffe) 98 Hayley Bateup (Kurrawa) 98 Courtney Hancock (Northcliffe) 97 Rebecca Creedy (Met Caloundra) 75 Allira Richardson (Mooloolaba) 64 Amy Nurthen (Terrigal) 62 Brodie Moir (North Burleigh) 61 Gemma Newbiggin (Mooloolaba) 61 Terri Sullivan (Northcliffe) 58 Bonnie Hancock (Northcliffe) 55 Flora Manciet (Northcliffe) 41 Sheree Merryful (Northcliffe) 38 Alyce Bennett (North Burleigh) 36 Maddison Prior (Warilla-Barrack Point) 28 Harriet Brown (Northcliffe) 21 Kelly-Ann Perkins (Met Caloundra) 20 Katie Graham (Northcliffe) 18 Casey Leo-Litzow (Northcliffe) 10 Tara Coleman (Maroubra) 6 Jessica Walker (Northcliffe) 4

 Photographer: www.petersollner.com

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Today in Port Macquarie, Patrick Vernay (New Caledonia) and Chrissie Wellington (UK) took the honours once again at the Country Energy Ironman Australia Triathlon. For Vernay, this marks a hat-trick of wins in Port Macquarie, while Wellington was able to successfully defend her inaugral 2008 title- and she keeps her perfect Ironman record six wins from six races intact.

After a week plagued with the worst imaginable weather conditions, athletes arrived this morning to a transition area which can only be described as a mud bath. However in true Ironman spirit, there was a terrific atmosphere in the race village as athletes made their final preparations for race start.

Just before the professional field set off on their 3.8km swim, it was announced that the highly anticipated showdown between Michellie Jones and Chrissie Wellington would not come to fruition, as Jones had been struck with a virus which had forced her to make the last minute decision to withdraw.

A disappointed Jones said, “This was one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make. I discussed it with my coach, but it was ultimately my decision.” Jones said that she is still determined to complete an Ironman in Australia before she retires from the sport.

In spite of the severe weather and torrential rain which had been experienced in race week, conditions for the two-lap Hastings River swim were surprisingly good.

In a first for Ironman Australia, the professional field were given a 35 minute ‘head start’ over the 1,400-strong age group contingent. This initiative proved to be a huge success, providing the professionals with clear water and road for the majority of the day.

As expected, Pete Jacobs immediately set to work, establishing an early lead on the 3.8km swim. By the mid-point turnaround, he had a clear 10 metre lead over a group which included Cam Watt, Mathias Hecht, Tim DeBoom, Rene Goehler and Simon Thompson. They were closely followed by another group which included the three lead women – Chrissie Wellington, Rebekah Keat and Sarah Pollett.

Jacobs exited the water in the super-fast time of 47:51. About 20 seconds behind came Goehler, Hecht, Thompson, Watt and DeBoom, and it was then a further couple of minutes to the main chase group which included defending champion Patrick Vernay, Tim Berkel, Josh Rix and Jimmy Johnsen. Mitch Anderson and Jason Shortis both emerged several minutes behind the leaders, setting themselves a massive challenge on the bike course.

Wellington just led the women out of the swim, however she had Pollett and Keat hot on her heels. Switzerland’s Caroline Steffen was just under two minutes further back.

Once on the bike course, the men’s race really started to take shape. The original lead group from the swim maintained their lead in the early stages, however by the 50km mark they had been joined by the chase group which included Vernay, Berkel, Johnson and DeBoom. Anderson loomed some seven minutes back.

About a quarter of the way in to the ride, Cameron Watt (winner of the 2008 Scody Port Macquarie Half Ironman) set his intentions by riding away from the group. He was able to extend his lead to as much as two minutes by the 90km mark, however in the final stages of the ride he was joined by local Port Macquarie athlete Adam Holborow. Watt responded by making a final surge as he approached the Ironman Village for the final time on the bike, and he was able to lead the charge in to the ride-run transition.

A tiring Holborow closely followed Watt into the run, however right behind him was a group of some ten athletes, including pre-race favourites Vernay, Berkel, DeBoom, Jacobs and Hecht.

Incredibly, Wellington had been able to ride right up with some of the leading men, and by the time she completed the 180km bike course, she had established a lead of over ten minutes on her closest rival, Rebekah Keat.

By the time the athletes headed back past the race village (approximately 7km into the run), the race had really started heating up. Vernay was running side-by-side with Berkel, setting the Port Macquarie “Team Berkel” support squad wild with excitement.

Approaching the half way mark, Vernay finally surged and was able to shake off Berkel. However he was still not to have the race all his own way, as meanwhile Jacobs had been steaming his way through the race leaders. He took the lead at the 35km mark, and for a while it appeared that an Aussie would finally reclaim the Ironman Australia title.

Ultimately, however, Vernay’s experience paid off and he was able to surge back past Jacobs in the closing lap of the run to take his third consecutive win here in Port Macquarie. Jacobs held on for second place, with Berkel rounding out the podium in a personal best time on the Port Macquarie course.

For Vernay, today’s victory was particularly special given that he was able to fend off challenge after challenge from the likes of Berkel and Jacobs. “It was a strange race today”, he said. “Finally, I got out of the swim with some strong bikers. We were able to catch the main group, but then we rode quite slowly. I was able to keep fresh on the bike, so I knew I would have a good marathon. But I did not think that Tim Berkel would run so fast.”

Vernay commented on how mentally challenging it was to run alongside Berkel, as the home-town athlete was receiving so much support from the crowds lining the run course.

When asked how he felt about being first Australian and second overall finisher today, a typically understated Jacobs simply said “pretty good”. His goal today was to secure his spot for Hawaii, so mission was well and truly accomplished.

For Berkel, third place continues his progression at this race each year, and it seems only a matter of time before the 24 year old is able to capture his firsts home-town win; a sentiment echoed later by both Vernay and Jacobs.

While the men’s race was punctuated with many lead changes throughout the day, the women’s race was all about Chrissie Wellington. In spite of Keat being able to stay with her until the end of the swim, as soon as they hit the bike it was a one-woman show. Unbelievably, Wellington was the 11th professional to finish, completing the course in under nine hours – a first for any woman over the Port Macquarie Ironman course.

“I am so immensely proud of my race today. It is such a vindication of all the hard work and my desire and passion I have for this sport.” When asked if she had been concerned about the extreme weather leading in to the race, Wellington simply said “You deal with it. We’re Ironman athletes. You deal with what you’re given.” She then credited race organisers and volunteers on delivering such a successful event in such difficult circumstances.

TOP THREE PROFESSIONAL RESULTS

Position Overall Swim Bike Run
1. Patrick Vernay (New Caledonia) 8:24:53 50:51 4:46:27 2:47:35
2. Pete Jacobs (NSW) 8:29:03 47:51 4:49:23 2:51:49
3. Tim Berkel (NSW) 8:31:43 50:50 4:47:16 2:54:37

1. Chrissie Wellington (UK) 8:57:10 50:48 5:05:02 3:01:20
2. Rebekah Keat (Qld) 9:21:33 50:55 5:16:03 3:14:35
3. Caroline Steffen (Switzerland) 9:38:44 52:28 5:14:32 3:31:43

BLK1 Article: IRONMAN AUSTRALIA  BLK1 Photographer: DELLY CARR

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Black Smiths Beach sunrise on Saturday during championships

Cronulla’s Allum brothers thought they had today’s Open Male Board Rescue final in the bag until rival club mates, the Simpson brothers, cleverly held back to await a lucky shore wave that catapulted them into the gold medal position.

Defending champion Mark Simpson, 24, was the swimmer in the rescue simulation event and younger brother Dean Simpson, 21, rode the board. Once Mark was retrieved the Simpson brothers chased Chris and Hayden Allum all the way to the beach until Dean spotted the winning ride.

“I saw a wave coming and told Mark to wait, that’s what got us past them,” he said grinning.

Chris Allum was clearly frustrated at the late loss. “We had that race in the bag, but that’s part of the sport. It’s dead flat then a one foot wave appears right there….it’s funny how it happens sometimes.”

The Simpson and the Allum brothers train together at Cronulla Surf Life Saving Club and are friends, “but not on the line,” admitted Chris Allum.

From today’s result he did take away some solace. Mark Simpson won this event last year, with a different partner, and two years ago the Simpson brothers won the national title. “To be in front of them makes me feel like we are in with a shot in Perth,” Chris Allum added, referring to the upcoming national titles in less than three weeks time.

Today’s gold medal was the third this state carnival for Mark Simpson who combined with the Allum brothers and Cameron Pyett yesterday in the Surf Team and with Hayden in the Open Mens Board Relay.

His training might have suffered in previous months due to work commitments but Mark’s happy to take the psychological advantage heading into tomorrow’s string of individual finals including the Swim, Board and the blue ribbon event, the Open Ironman.

In the Open Female Board Rescue Terrigal stormed home, a big turnaround from last year when the team failed to qualify for the finals at the state championship. Only their second time on a board together this season, 25 year old Amanda White, the defending national champion, and Joanna Baxter, a 17 year old St Josephs High School student, “just clicked”.

Baxter was also part of the winning Terrigal team in the Under 19 Female Surf Team final, combining with Erin Robertson and two Under 17 swimmers, Jorden Burnes and Rachelle King.

Conditions were calm again for day two of the 2009 Allphones Open NSW Surf Life Saving Championships with a dumping shore break, light winds and flat seas under a strong sun on the final day of summer.

This evening will be a quiet affair for the Open competitors who have qualified for a finals berth tomorrow. The competition will get underway at 8am in the morning before the traditional March Past at 11am when the 2008 NSW Surf Lifesaver and Volunteer of the Year will be announced.

The carnival’s closing events promise a thrilling afternoon of water and beach finals climaxing with the pinnacle, the Open Ironman and Ironwoman.

Host Club Swansea Belmont rose to second place in the overall pointscore today.

FINAL RESULTS: DAY TWO

1. Manly- 128

2. Swansea Belmont- 120

3. Terrigal- 119

4. Freshwater- 108

5. Warilla-Barrack Point- 107

6. Cronulla- 88

7. Redhead- 72

8. Wanda- 71

9. Ocean Beach- 68

10. North Cronulla- 61

FINALS RESULTS FROM DAY TWO
Open Male Board Rescue
(1) Cronulla c (2) Cronulla b (3) Manly BLUE (4) Cudgen Headland White (5) North Bondi Barbarians (6) Cudgen Headland Blue

Open Female Board Rescue
(1) Terrigal A (2) Sawtell A (3) Freshwater A (4) Lennox Head-Alstonville X (5) Swansea Belmont B (6) The Lakes Red

Under 17 Male Board Rescue
(1) Cronulla c (2) Terrigal A (3) Warilla-Barrack Point BLUE (4) Redhead A (5) Freshwater A (6) Lennox Head-Alstonville X

Under 17 Female Board Rescue
(1) Copacabana RED (2) Manly BLUE (3) Cooks Hill A (4) Warilla-Barrack Point WHITE (5) Freshwater A (6) Swansea Belmont D

Under 15 Male Board Rescue
(1) Redhead B (2) Redhead A (3) Cudgen Headland Blue (4) Wanda red (5) Ocean Beach BLUE (6) Elouera White

Under 15 Female Board Rescue
(1) Freshwater B (2) Cronulla red (3) Redhead b (4) Terrigal C (5) Avoca Beach green (6) Terrigal A

Under 19 Female Taplin Relay
(1) Warilla-Barrack Point BLACK (2) Swansea Belmont A (3) Freshwater A (4) Byron Bay A (5) Warilla-Barrack Point ORANGE (6) Elouera White

Under 19 Male Taplin Relay
(1) Avoca Beach A (2) Warilla-Barrack Point BLACK (3) Collaroy red (4) Terrigal A (5) Elouera White (6) Freshwater A

Under 19 Female Single Ski
(1) BAXTER, JOANNA (Terrigal) (2) SMITH, LAUREN (Warilla-Barrack Point) (3) COLEMAN, TARA (Maroubra) (4) KNAPMAN, SARAH (Manly) (5) MINOGUE, HANNAH (Bulli) (6) FLEMMING, Tahnee (Byron Bay)

Under 19 Double Ski (single gender teams)
(1) Warilla-Barrack Point BLACK (2) Warilla-Barrack Point ORANGE (3) Freshwater A (4) North Bondi a (5) Byron Bay A (6) Avoca Beach B

Open Male Malibu Surf Board Riding
(1) Rawson, Matt (Swansea Belmont) (2) Carroll, Anthony (Bronte) (3) VanDerWallen, Adriaan (Avalon Beach) (4) Mahoney, Sean (North Cronulla) (5) Gibson, Nathen (Long Reef) (6) Williams, Bryce (Swansea Belmont)

Open Female Malibu Surf Board Riding
(1) KENT, MICHELLE (Redhead) (2) Mulquiney, Katie (Cooks Hill) (3) Miley-Dwyer, Olivia (Bronte) (4) Charles, April (North Cronulla)

Open Mixed 5 Person R&R
(1) Collaroy Black (2) Wanda red (3) Newport Gold (4) North Cronulla Gold (5) Wanda blue (6) Swansea Belmont A

Open 6 Person R&R
(1) Freshwater MAROON (2) Collaroy Black (3) Swansea Belmont A (4) Bondi B (5) Wanda blue (6) Freshwater WHITE

Open Male 5 Person R&R
(1) Swansea Belmont A (2) Bondi A (3) Wanda blue (4) Freshwater MAROON

Over 24 Restricted Surf Race
(1) Allen, Malcolm (Bronte) (2) LEMMON, Paul (Freshwater) (3) Bowden, Andrew (Bronte) (4) HANSON, Kurt (Freshwater) (5) pyett, cameron (Cronulla) (6) bolewski, joel (Wanda)

Under 19 Female Surf Teams
(1) Terrigal A (2) Manly BLUE (3) Elouera Blue (4) Byron Bay A (5) North Bondi A (6) North Cronulla Gold

Under 19 Male Surf Teams
(1) Warilla-Barrack Point BLACK (2) Elouera White (3) Bulli A (4) Manly BLUE (5) Wanda red (6) Terrigal A

Under 15 Female Surf Teams
(1) Cronulla a (2) Redhead A (3) Freshwater A (4) Avoca Beach blue (5) Terrigal A (6) Sawtell A

Under 17 Male Board Relay
(1) Terrigal A (2) Bulli A (3) Cronulla a (4) Lennox Head-Alstonville X (5) Freshwater A (6) Swansea Belmont A

Under 17 Female Board Relay
(1) Terrigal A (2) Warilla-Barrack Point BLACK (3) Byron Bay A (4) Freshwater A (5) Copacabana JOSH (6) Swansea Belmont A

Under 15 Male Board Relay
(1) Redhead A (2) Swansea Belmont A (3) North Cronulla Gold (4) Wanda blue (5) Avoca Beach blue (6) Redhead B

Under 15 Female Board Relay
(1) Avoca Beach blue (2) Cronulla a (3) Lennox Head-Alstonville X (4) Sawtell A (5) Redhead A (6) Terrigal A

Boat Relay
(1) South Curl Curl South Curly (2) Manly BLUE (3) Cooks Hill HILL (4) Bulli A

Open Male 2km Beach Run
(1) CONRICK, BOYD (Redhead) (2) DAY, BLAIR (Warilla-Barrack Point) (3) HIGGINS, Scott (The Lakes) (4) BALDWIN, LEON (Manly) (5) Hynard, Brad (Wollongong City) (6) Barclay, Jared (North Cronulla)

Open Female 2km Beach Run
(1) Leadbeatter, Angela (Swansea Belmont) (2) Conder, Jenny (Elouera) (3) McCarthy, Siobhan (North Bondi) (4) campbell, melissa (Wanda) (5) Conder, Kate (Elouera) (6) HEAL, EMILY (Manly)

Under 17 Male 2km Beach Run
(1) JAMES, BLAKE (Warilla-Barrack Point) (2) Wallace, Jordan (Wollongong City) (3) CALLAWAY, DAVID (Bulli) (4) Callander, charlie (Whale Beach) (5) Ingle, Jake (Swansea Belmont) (6) SHEPHERD, HAYDEN (Redhead)

Under 15 Male 2km Beach Run
(1) Walters, Guy (Swansea Belmont) (2) WYLIE, TIM (Towradgi) (3) cracknell, toby (Avoca Beach) (4) Green, Jake (Thirroul) (5) Kelly-Makovec, Joshua (North Cronulla) (6) MARSHALL, Ben (The Lakes)

Under 19 Male 2km Beach Run
(1) Ham, Troy (Swansea Belmont) (2) WATSON, ADAM (Manly) (3) KRUCLER, JORDAN (Umina Beach) (4) RIDDINGTON, NATHAN (Queenscliff) (5) Flannery, Ryan (Dixon Park) (6) HAWKE, PHILLIP (Queenscliff)

Under 17 Female 2km Beach Run
(1) JONES, BREE (Warilla-Barrack Point) (2) McGain, Alexandra (Bilgola) (3) Brady, Tia (Dixon Park) (4) McGrath, Georgia (North Cronulla) (5) RYAN, SASHA (Shellharbour) (6) Bakker, Kaitlin (Lennox Head-Alstonville)

Under 15 Female 2km Beach Run
(1) GASPAROTTO, ELYSSIA (Ocean Beach) (2) LAVALLE, OLIVIA (North Wollongong) (3) SMYTH, LILLI (Coffs Harbour) (4) douglas-savage, chloe (Wanda) (5) davies, michaela (Cronulla) (6) Kruger, Zane (Dee Why)

BLK1 Article: SURF LIFE SAVING NSW Photographer: PETER SOLLNER

Blacksmiths Beach Sunrise - Day 2

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