Triathlon is a sport that welcomes participants of any skill level, but the gift of the sport is it is something you can accomplish for yourself no matter your final placing.
Sue Oates was recently made a Life Member by TASTriathlon, after being involved with the sport since the 1980s.
“We were in the sport at a really good time, and at that time there were a lot of people following triathlon,” Oates said.
“I used to always be a runner and I did a bit of swimming, so my husband and I thought we’d give triathlon a go.
“It was quite interesting because all of a sudden, it just took off in Tasmania.”
A pioneer in inspiring many women and community members to participate in triathlon, Sue became a guiding light for those nervous to race.
“It was a wonderful time and I tried to encourage young ones to be a part of something like that,” she said.
“When I would go along there would be people there saying ‘I’m really nervous I don’t know if I should be doing this’ and I’d say ‘look with triathlon, you just do it to finish it and you do it for yourself’.
“It doesn’t matter where you come, but as long as you can hold it all together and finish, you’ve done it.
“I just tried to encourage people because I knew what it was like.”
Being awarded Life Member was both a surprise and a gift for Sue, who was incredibly gracious to receive recognition for her time involved with the sport.
“When I was nominated, I was blown away,” Oates said.
“Now I’ve had so many people ringing me up and congratulating me and saying ‘you were a great inspiration when I used to do triathlons’.
“I found in my last few years of competing, when I’d be coming last and be walking the run, I would have young people come up to me when I finished and say ‘you’ve done really well and it’s great to see you here’.
“And as you get older it is really nice to be recognised by the younger ones, it really makes a difference.”
Still involved heavily in her community, Sue has friends who keep in touch regularly to update her on how their children are going in their triathlon events, keeping her passion for triathlon and inspiring others to participate alive.
“To anyone wanting to get involved I simply say, give it a go,” she said.
“Do the race for yourself, and you race to finish.
“Once you’ve done one, you’re going to be addicted, because people always say they want to do it once to experience it, and then once they finish one they want and know they can do it again.
“And at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.”
If you are interested in getting involved in triathlon, head to https://www.triathlon.org.au/ to find an event near you.
