The clock is ticking down to the Super Sprint Race Weekend with athletes from across the country coming together to vie for top spot in the Australian Junior & Youth Super Sprint Championships.
Held at Runaway Bay, on the Gold Coast the Championships are a great way for the emerging athletes to put their best foot forward in a battle of endurance, stamina and determination.
The Super Sprint Weekend has long been recognised as a stepping stone into the elite with previous winners now donning the Olympian title such as Ashleigh Gentle, Matt Hauser, Jaz Hedgeland, Jake Birtwhistle, and Emma Jackson.
This year promises to deliver the same. In the first half of the preview, we will look at South Australia, NSW and Victoria and some key prospects to keep an eye out for.
New South Wales:
New South Wales will be looking to go back-to-back, after Jack Caldwell secured his maiden title in January this year at the same event. There will be a couple of new faces to look out for including the likes of Ben Devries, junior male. Devries has been selected for the Aspire Program and has experience competing on the big stage, featuring in the 16-19 male age group World Champion at Wollongong.
Meanwhile, Petra Fransen is another exciting talent, identified as part of the Target Talent Program. She had a strong showing at the Billigence Pathways Series in NSW and will be keen to keep that momentum going.
South Australia:
For South Australia, Thomas Wallett, impressed at the Junior Triathlon in SSA Nationals in March, finishing seventh. He will be looking to build off that with a strong performance in the Youth Male category at Super Sprint Race Weekend and do South Australia proud. There’s also plenty of other names within the squad coming across such as Adelle Parkinson-Need who claimed silver at the 2025 World Triathlon Multisport Championships.
Victoria:
Victorian, Merlin Tzaros won the Junior B final last year and placed third at School Sport Nationals in March. He will be looking to take the next step up over the weekend and put his best competitive foot forward in the A final. Fellow Victorian, Charlee Newman, is another name to keep an eye out for. He also competed in the Junior B finals last year and took home the top prize. Expect Newman, to kick it up a gear in the A finals.
For the women, Sophie Hall is a name to remember for Victoria, coming first at the Junior Triathlon at School Sport Nationals in March and will want to keep that upward trajectory at a major event such as this.
Athletes will accumulate points through various events, such as aquathlon, mixed relay and the sprint with points assigned based on overall time.
For more information on the Australian Junior & Youth Super Sprint Championships, click here.
