2007/2008 SNAP AUSTRALIAN HALF IRONMAN SERIES POINTS CHAMPIONSHIP
WRAP UP

By Ken Baggs – Snap Australian Half Ironman Series Coordinator

There were some amazing finishes to this season’s Series following the impact of the 1.5 points application from the Snap Ironman 70.3 race at Geelong as the Series grand final race.

There were over 6000 athletes racing in our eight races of the Series, and we thank every competitor for their efforts this season.

There were certainly some surprises among many of the age divisions:

MEN

Male 18-24 - Adam Holborow won from John Polson. Holborow was also the highest overall points scorer and we thank him for his great support of the Series.

Male 25-29 - Pablo Safrana sustained a late charge from Luke Whitmore who emerged as a future contender in this division.

Male 30-34 - Sam Hume broke through knocking off Jarrod Evans who didn’t race in Geelong, therefore missing out on valuable points.

Male 35-39 - Campbell Maffett won from Ed Wilde who took second place. Wilde is a new name in the top 3 and marked himself as one to watch next season.

Male 40-44 - It paid to race Geelong as the top 3 going into the event were overtaken by three new players, with Romano Bernhard getting the valuable points for a win.

Male 45-49 - There was strong competition as 2 of the 3 leading points scorers going into Geelong were taken out as John Stekelenburg emerged the winner.

Male 50-54 - The consistent John Hill kept his opposition out with a convincing win

Male 55-59 - Three new names popped up here with Peter Hanley taking the honours

Male 60-64 - Going into Geelong, Griff Weste was well out in front on the points table, and with his rivals not going to Geelong, he was the unchallenged winner.

Male 65-69 - No one in this age group did the required two races, so there was no winner in this category.

Male 70+ - As predicted in the last report, although Keith Pearce led the Series in this division, he did not front up at Geelong, so Brian Lynch took the honours.

Male Pro - David Dellow won with a great charge, as did Boyd Conrick who took second, leaving the opposition in the wilderness.

The points from the Snap Ironman 70.3 Geelong played a big part in deciding the winner and placegetters. The professional athletes certainly supported us this year and it is important for them and for their potential sponsors that they do well in a Series such as this.

WOMEN

Female 18-24 - This was a great tussle with Jacinta Collier and Elizabeth Gordon on equal points going into Geelong, and Jacinta just pipping Elizabeth by 2 points.

Female 25-29 - Three new names popped up here and Kelly Jarrett took out this Division as Half Ironman Champion from Anna Francis by only 3 points.

Female 30-34 - Tara Nolan survived the challenge from Rebecca Everleigh with both going into Geelong in first and second places respectively, the position that they stayed.

Female 35-39 - Gudrun Meyer-Boehm could not quite get to Julie Gollan-Foard with these two “hyphenated” ladies keeping 3 points between them prior to and after Geelong.

Female 40-44 - Angela Clarke paid the price of not racing at Geelong as her close second fellow competitor Linda O’Connor charged through to take the honours.

Female 45-49 - Robyn McGeary took the honours in this age category.

Female 50-54 - The 3 leading points scorers decided their racing in other Half Ironman races was enough, but Jenny Kelly wisely chose Geelong and won with a clear 9 points over Sue Luckhurst.

Female 55-59 - This was a close one with Anne Grundy not racing at Geelong allowing for Beryl Wilson to shine but only by a point from Miriam Nielsen who went into the race in second place on the points table.

Female Pros - This was quite interesting as again the female professionals really got behind the Series. The extra points from the Snap Ironman 70.3 Geelong again showed the importance of the grand final with Rebekah Keat knocking out Lisa Marangon and Amelia Pearson with her second placing at Geelong.

On behalf of IMG, the Ironman organisation and Triathlon Australia, congratulations to all the above 2007/2008 Australian Half Ironman Champions and a special thank you to everyone who raced in the Series this season. Your support is truly appreciated.

Those champions and placegetters who did not collect their trophies that were awarded courtesy of our series partner, Triathlon Australia, please contact the Ironman Race Office on 02 65 547188.

For the final Series Points Score – Please visit www.halfironmanseries.com

2008/09 AUSTRALIAN HALF IRONMAN TRIATHLON SERIES DATES ANNOUNCED

Details of the 2008/09 Australian Half Ironman Triathlon Series are listed below. Please visit the individual Race websites or the Series website www.halfironmanseries.com for further information

2008 PANTHERS IRONMAN AUSTRALIA ENTRIES CLOSE

IMG are pleased to announce over 1500 entries for the 2008 Panthers Ironman Australia. This is only slightly down on previous years (2007 had 1560 starters) but gives further support to the introduction of the ‘Validation system’ which was introduced to make it easier for anyone who wants to enter only having to compete in one race of the Australian Half Ironman Series.

The positive in all of this is that the demand for spots looks about equal to the field capacity at Port Macquarie. Another positive is the increase of nearly 1,000 competitors (over 6,000 in total) who took part in the 2007/08 Snap Australian Half Ironman Series, including a great result with over 1200 competitors at the inaugural Snap Ironman 70.3 Geelong. With the continued growth of Ironman Western Australia, this all goes well for the strength of Ironman in Australia.  

Thank you and good luck to all Ironman competitors and I look forward to seeing many of you finishing the season on a high at Port.

Dallas O’Brien

IMG Event Director