The final round of the Nutri-Grain Ironman Series was certainly full of
thrills, spills and plenty of action all round yesterday at Coolum Beach. The
competitors were met with very tricky conditions with big seas and very strong wind.
BMD Northcliffe athletes fared better than most with
our girls filling all 3 podium spots in the final race. It was a sprint finish
between clubmate's Harriet Brown & Maddy Dunn but youngster Maddy Dunn had
the legs in the final sprint to take the win. Maddy's win helped her secure an
automatic qualification in to next year's series. Courtney Hancock was 3rd on
the day which was enough to claim the overall series for a third time in her
career. The series nearly slipped from her grasp after nearly being eliminated
in the first race going in to final swim leg in 13th place with only the top 10
going through to the final. Courtney remained composed and put in a gutsy swim
to come out of the water in 10th claiming the last spot for the final. Kristyl Smith's 7th
place and Rebecca Creedy's 9th place was enough to secure them automatic
qualification in to next year's series.
In the men's race, Shannon "The Professor" Eckstein put in a dominant performance to claim
victory on the day as well as seal an unprecedented 8th Ironman Series crown.
Shannon only had to complete the first race to secure the series but that
wasn't enough for him going on to win the race very comfortable allowing him to
enjoy the moment with the crowd and his family as he crossed the line. This
would have to be one of the most dominant performances in history with 4 wins
and 2 runner ups over the 6 round series.
Young gun Tanyn Lyndon cemented
himself as a star of the future with his 4th placing securing him automatic
qualification for next year's series. Caine Eckstein didn't have a great day
being eliminated in race 2 but his 9th placing was also enough to keep him in
the top 6 for automatic qualification.
