Jack Woodberry and Aspen Anderson have reestablished themselves as two of Australia’s best young athletes with resounding wins at the Australian Junior Sprint Championships held in Wollongong.
As reigning Australian Junior Super Sprint Champions and with recent victories at the Oceania Triathlon Junior Championships in Napier, the pair were the clear favourites heading into Saturday’s race.
And they both rose to the occasion taking the titles in dominating fashion.
Woodberry (TAS) finished in a time of 57:39, ahead of Wollongong local Mitchell Blackbourn (NSW) and Ty Davis (VIC).
“It feels very special, especially after such a big season. It feels amazing,” Woodberry said.
“I was very happy with my swim after putting in some soil work in the pool. I had a good bike and then got onto the run and do what I do best and had a crack. It worked out well.”
The 16-year-old relished the opportunity of racing in Wollongong alongside the World Triathlon Cup.
“I love Wollongong. I came down yesterday for the familiarisation and realised how beautiful the place was. I really like it,” he said.
“To be in the same location as the elites, racing on the same day means so much to me.”
Anderson (QLD) won the Junior Women’s race in 01:03:58, ahead of Ava Henville (WA) and Isla Watson (QLD).
“I’m really happy with that. It was brutal conditions, but I’m really happy to get it done,” Anderson said.
“Suddenly this morning it was a wetsuit swim, so had to adapt to that really quickly. But I managed to get it off nicely and found a group of four girls to work with on the bike. And then I just knuckled down on the run.”
The 17-year-old echoed Woodberry’s thoughts, saying it was great to be racing in Wollongong.
“It’s really nice having an Australian race. To race on the course that the Grand Final is next year is really, really cool. It would be a dream to be able to race at that. Hopefully I get to line up here next year.”
With their wins in Wollongong, Woodberry and Anderson now hold the titles of Oceania Triathlon Junior Sprint Champions, Australian Junior Sprint Champions, and Australian Junior Super Sprint Champions.
And with both finding themselves on the Long List for potential selection onto the Australian team for October’s Junior World Championships in Torremolinos-Andalucia, their impressive performances have positioned them as strong contenders to wear the green and gold on the international stage later this year.
“I would love to represent Australia again,” Anderson, a 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games dual-gold medallist, said.
“Putting on the green and gold is always an honour and going over to Spain would be so fun.”
In addition to hosting the Australian Junior Sprint Championships, Wollongong also served as the venue for the Australian Para & Intellectual Impairment Championships.
Cameron Marshall and Georgia Powning secured their fourth-straight Australian Intellectual Impairment titles, while Hugo Sierakowski claimed victory in the II3 Men category.
Sam Harding and David Mainwaring (PTVI Men), Jack Gibson (PTS3 Men), Matthew Engesser (PTS4 Men), Tom Walvin (PTWC Men) and Andrea Crompton (PTS5 Women) all came away with Australian Para Championships in their respective categories.
Congratulations to the 2024 Australian Junior Sprint Champions
Junior Men
1 Jack Woodberry (TAS)
2 Mitchell Blackbourn (NSW)
3 Ty Davis (VIC)
Junior Women
1 Aspen Anderson (QLD)
2 Ava Henville (WA)
3 Isla Watson (QLD)
Congratulations to the 2024 Australian Para & II Champions
PTVI Men
1 Sam Harding and Guide David Mainwaring
2 Patrick Whelan and Guide Christian Kovarik
PTS3 Men
1 Jack Gibson
PTS4 Men
1 Matthew Engesser
PTS5 Women
1 Andrea Crompton
PTWC Men
1 Tom Walvin
II 1 & 2 Men
1 Cameron Marshall
2 Laurence Tod
3 Carlo Manolitsas
II 1 & 2 Women
1 Georgia Powning
2 Clara Campillos
3 Alexandra Guiney
II 3 Men
1 Hugo Sierakowski
The 2024 World Triathlon Cup Wollongong is supported proudly by the NSW Government through Destination NSW in collaboration with Wollongong City Council in a landmark three-year partnership that will bring World Triathlon racing to Wollongong until 2026.
