The Triathlon Western Australia State Aquathlon Championships took place at the Joondalup Autumn Aquathlon on Monday, 7 March. Organised by XTR Multisports, this year the event saw record participation numbers and an incredibly competitive field.
Over 200 triathletes were treated to sunny skies and balmy 30-degree easterlies, making for perfect swimming conditions at Mullaloo Beach.
In the Elite men’s field, Zeke Tinley (Bunbury) took out the win in an incredible time of just 00:30:57.45 earning him the title of 2022 WA Male State Aquathlon Champion. This victory keeps Tinley at the top of the TOTY leaderboard, following an outstanding win at the Rockingham Foreshore Triathlon last month.
In a nail-biting race to the finish, hotshot James Kjellgren-Lewis (Fremantle) crossed the line just 28 seconds behind to claim second place, with James Lewin (Stadium) just another 16 seconds adrift to claim third place.
Daniel Buis (North Coast), James Martin (Bunbury) and Guy Crawford (Fremantle) also put in strong performances, finishing just minutes behind the top 3.
In the Elite Women’s field, we saw excellent performances all round. After a break from competition earlier in the season, defending Aquathlon Champion and reigning Triathlete of the Year Felicity Sheedy-Ryan (UWA) showed exactly why she holds the crown, crossing the finish line to claim first place in just 00:34:00.07. This win earns her the title of 2022 WA Female State Aquathlon Champion.
Young-gun Indie Arbuckle (Team XTR) dominated in the swim leg but trailed behind Sheedy-Ryan in the final sprint to the finish to claim second place. Seasoned athletes Kate Bevilaqua (Fremantle) and Katherine Ryan (Stadium) were just minutes behind to claim third and fourth place respectively.
Age group athletes put on an impressive show of skill, several finishing with faster times than the Elite athletes.
17-year-old Joshua Neervort (Fremantle) gave the older male athletes a run for their money, crossing the line in a time of just 00:31:57.91 – less than a second behind Lewin – to claim first place in the 16-19 age group.
Female age group athlete Katya Anderson finished just 15 seconds behind Arbuckle, with Petra Jerejian (North Coast) just 1 second behind Anderson. Rebecca Clarke, Emma Moon (Phoenix), Emily White (Exceed), Sarah Nisbet (Stadium), and Janne Liebmann (Fremantle) gave impressive performances to finish the race less than five minutes behind 2022 State Aquathlon Champion Sheedy-Ryan.
Male age group athletes Andrew Malatios (Exceed), Phillipp Albert (North Coast), Jacob Palmer, Brynn Wells (Bunbury) and Jack McCleay (Exceed) all finished less than 5 minutes behind 2022 State Aquathlon Champion Tinley, each topping the podium in their age category.
In the junior Long Course field, we saw incredible performances from the likes of Lachlan Bean, Cian Corcoran, Rebecca Clarke, Daniel Stewart, Jonathan Clarke, and Abbie Crew (North Coast).
The next Senior State Series race is the Karri Valley Triathlon, happening Saturday, 19 March at Karri Valley in Western Australia’s gorgeous South-West region.