Luke Schofield made it two on the trot taking home the Oceania Triathlon Super Sprint Championships and Cup at Runaway Bay after a blistering performance on the final leg.
Having claimed the Oceania Super Sprint Championships title last year, Schofield backed up his performance this weekend utilising his speed, technical skill in transition and quick decision making to keep his nose in front and steal the win.
“That was a stacked field,” he said.
“We had Tayler Reid come across and I’ve never raced him, so I had no idea what it was going to be like. But I think everyone has just gotten quicker this year, to be honest. I feel like I had a lot of pressure on me going into this coming off the win from last year.”
Despite not leading out of the blocks, Schofield found a way to dig deep, using the crowd support to really push in that final lap on the track to secure the top gong.
“There’s something about the crowd here, the sprint, the spectators. I just get behind it. I do love a track run. The shorter the run, the better for me and I was like I’m just going to leave it to the last minute and I just love that.”
Hot on his heels was Brayden Mercer, who was coming off the win at the Oceania Sprint Championships in the Gold Coast last week while Lockie Jones rounded out the podium spots, collecting third.
In the women’s it was New Zealander Nicole van der Kaay that won gold edging out Sophie Malowiecki and fellow countrywoman Eva Goodisson.
It was a tough battle out on the course with no one able to generate much separation. The pool swim saw the athletes leave the water neck and neck before the slightest of margins opened on the bike. Malowiecki made her move on the run, but it was all just too late with van der Kaay sticking strong.
In the mixed team relay it was Australian duo Lockie Jones and Malowiecki who secured victory. Coming off a strong run, Malowiecki provided a handy head start to Jones who took complete control and really stamped his authority both on the bike and on the run to cruise to victory.
See the full results here.
