Seven Primary students competed in the Queensland Aquathlon Championships last weekend and loved the experience. They also performed really well with most of them finishing in the top half of their fields.
Athletes came from all over South East Queensland to compete in the event. There were some very experienced competitors and many learning the sport so it was great to compete at this level. Our team has been training for the event for the past few months and this showed in how well they performed on the course.
The event was held at Kawana using Lake Kanana for the swim leg and the pathways for the run legs of the race. The 7-9 year olds ran 500m, swam 100m and ran another 500m to the finish. The 10 and 11 year olds ran 1km, swam 200m in the lake and ran another 1km to the finish line.
Sophie Doyle was our highest placing competitor finishing 5th in the 7-9 yr girls race. She was one of the fastest runners in her race, finishing the first 500m in second place and she swam well too. It was fantastic to see her finish in 5th place. Hadley Smith and Corbie McNeil were not far behind finishing 8th and 13th respectively from the field of 26 athletes. Kai Carter was our only boy to compete in the 7-9 yrs Kids Aquathlon and was determined to do his very best. He ran a fantastic first leg and swam confidently and after the second run leg, finished 17th from the field of 40 athletes. What a fantastic effort from our 7-9 year students.
Isla McNeil was our only girl in the Primary Aquathlon event and she finished in the middle of the 83 strong field. Isla was our fastest Primary competitor and quick through the transition areas which certainly helped her finish higher in this field. She also ran and swam well.
Liam Wessels and Eli Smith competed in the Primary Boys Aquathlon and raced great races. Liam finished midway through the field after the 1 km run but the swim in the choppy lake was a challenge for both boys. They sprinted up the home straight to finish strongly.
Everyone really enjoyed the experience and they are all keen to compete again in similar events.
Wendy Stott
GCC families can see all the photos on Pixevety in this album: Aquathlon
