Spartan Triathletes Shine at Australian Super Sprint Championship

Somerset Gold Squad triathletes have had a busy start to 2025. Super Sprint Nationals were delayed from mid-December 2024 to late January 2025 and that meant serious training over the holidays. The effort paid off and we experienced amazing results.

The preparation started in November when triathletes went to Bond University for a series of physical and physiological tests to determine the best approach to individualised training. In December they met with the renowned sport psychologist Rachel Jones, had a workshop with former Junior Elite triathlete and now sport dietician Elle Leahy, and had a wonderful chat with physiotherapist Brad Beer who told them all about his experience alongside Hayden Wilde in the preparation for the Paris Olympics silver medal. Throughout December, athletes worked hard in their acclimatisation preparation for the expected heat during nationals. The preparation was finalised early January during the 10-day Noosa Triathlon Camp.

Ten of our Gold Squad triathletes participated in the race. Unfortunately, Patrick Kelly-Correa (Y11) and Liam Thornton (Y10) had to pull out before the conclusion of the 4-day competition. Liana Warwick (Y10), Camille De Bruin (Y9), and Cooper Shevlin (Club) in the Youth category; and Holly Hembling (Y12) in the Junior & U23 category had outstanding races to figure top 30 in the country. Elisabeth Staelen (Y9), Emma Lester (Y9) and Joel Rodd (Club) had qualifying times for the “A Final” which ranks them top 15 nationwide in the Youth category. Despite being 15yo, Lucas Soegaard (Y10) qualified for the Junior & U23 finals. His impeccable race granted him 9th place overall and 3rd place among the Juniors less than a minute away from the overall race winner.

Spartan Triathletes will soon head to School Sport State Triathlon in Hervey Bay. The 2-day competition involves a longer distance than the one faced at Super Sprint. Weather conditions are expected to be even harsher than the 32-35 degrees faced at Super Sprint Nationals. The State Championship race is the only qualifier for SS Nationals in WA in March.