Just got back from IM Oz. Great race, even though the water was too warm for wetsuits (got a good deal on a new Ironman stealth wetsuit before the race, jinxed myself). New respect for Australian triathletes – those guys and gals down there can motor right along. The entire “tri culture” down under seems just a little bit more “advanced” than in the States – I think it might have something to dow with all of the local tri clubs and their regional competitions and the increased youth participation in sports in general. Aussies really know their sport and how to put the hammer down.
But the best aspect of triathlon down there is the overall fun and friendliness that Australian athletes display – simply outstanding. And the best memory I’ll have is stumbling on the Tri-travel bus at 0600 Tuesday morning after the race for the haul back down to Sydney and seeing (after blinking hard a couple of times) Chris McCormack and Chris Legh walking around the run course with bottles in their hands (water, I’m sure) dressed in the same clothes they had on the previous night at the awards banquet! Macca had said in his acceptance speech that he was going to buy everyone a beer that night and evidently he tried very hard to do just that… Race hard, party harder. Must have been trained by the legendary Greg Welsh in that regard. And for all of the Macca fans ought there, he gave a very humble, humorous, eloquent speech after getting his award. It’s also obvious that he is a very popular athlete down there.
Glad you had a good time downunder. I did IM Australia about 12 years ago at Forster/Tuncurry. Had a great time. I think that Australia has better recognition of athletes in Triathlon and cycling. Macca is a household name is Australia and the Grand Prix series gets prime time TV coverage on a major network.
You have to balance the racing with some hard partying, when I first moved to the US I earned my nickname for some drunkenness and public nudity…
KR
Shhh… the Aussie secret is tri “food” in a green can, consumed in large quantities before, during and after ALL tri’s. Called VB - as in VERY BEST brew.
The blue can (FOSTERs) is the export $hit we send to the US of A. Check out this dedication…
http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/LinkPhoto?GUID=142915ee-2a6c-397a-1be1-455a6a6d20a3&size=lg
aloha, Mark
aka Hairy Legs
An Aussie living in Hawaii
Was chatting to Macca the day after the race for 15 min or so, he was stoked. My fiance wanted a pic with him and we ended up chatting. Check out qualifying time for some of those AG’s. I did 9:34 and had to rely on a rolldown for a Hawaii spot!!!
pinkboy…aloha
Nice job on Kona, pinkboy. Welcome to Slowtwitch. Saw your name on Transitions where I lurk occasionally.
Been lurkin here a while now. Needed some more stimulus(sp?) now that Im preparing for Hawaii. Some good info here, so why not post I say.
pinkboy
Yep…all night while partying, Macca kept telling everyone that he was gunna walk the run course…no-one believed him, so at 3am when the bar doors shut and they were asked to leave, he and good friend Jason Metters walked the run course…
Nothing like getting to know your own backyard really is there.
So you’re saying that Macca did a 3.8K swim, 180K bike, 42.2K run, partied all nite and then walked another 21.1K before going to sleep. The man is a stud. As I said before and I say again, this sport needs more guys like him. They add some color to the sport, race from the heart and provide their sponsors with huge return on investment !
Dev
You made that sound so cool Paul. The race was on the Sunday. The party bit and the walking bit was Monday night / Tuesday morning. Still a great acheivement in anyones words though.