Triathlon: Blatchford Wins First And Last Aussie Title While Walton Takes Maiden Victory

Liz Blatchford and Craig Walton today won their maiden Australian Triathlon Championship titles at the Mooloolaba Olympic Distance triathlon on the Sunshine Coast .

For Blatchford it will also be her last Australian title as she has changed allegiance to compete for Britain . She was born in Manchester but has spent most of her life in Australia and said that missing out on the Olympic team was the impetus for her decision to move to Britain .

“I feel I have a better chance of making Commonwealth Games and Olympic teams for Great Britain next time around,” she explained after today's race.

Blatchford got a great start in the swim and was with the lead group which included Melanie Mitchell , Olympic team members Loretta Harrop and Rina Hill , Annabel Luxford and Alee Sharp.

T his same group dominated the bike leg and maintained a lead of over a minute to the chase group, throughout the race. By the last lap they had opened up a lead of two minutes and 40 seconds to a group which included junior world champion Felicity Abram.

Blatchford and Hill immediately opened up a 20m gap on the run leg and ran shoulder to shoulder until the last lap when Blatchford broke away up the steep ascent. Hill was unable to go with her and she crossed the line, taking out her first and last Australian titles. Hill was 30 seconds behind in second pace and Loretta Harrop came third.

“It was my last chance to win an Australian title and I'm just stoked. I've been training really well and I felt great, and it just all came together for me,” Blatchford said.

“Rina's always really strong on the run but I know that I've been running well in training. I had nothing to lose so I just went for it.”

In the mens race T asmanian Craig Walton did a phenomenal job to win given that he was out on his own for almost the entire race.

He lead the swim and was able to catch a wave into shore giving him a 12 second lead into the bike leg.

Such is the strength of his bike riding ability, Walton was able to turn that into a lead of one minute after the first of eight laps. By the second lap he had extended that to two minutes 10 seconds and by the last lap the lead was three and a half minutes.

Whilst he made them look like amateurs in comparison, the second group included New Zealand Olympic team member Bevan Doherty, former world champions Miles Stewart, Olivier Marceau and Chris McCormack , and the recent Australian Accenture Series winner, Courtney Atkinson .

Despite his enormous lead into the run leg, Walton was not home and hosed. His run is well recognised as being his weak leg, and the man in pursuit – Great Britain 's Paul Amey, had shown his pedigree by winning the 5km fun run on Friday evening, and was out after the big T asmanian.

But cheered on by a large crowd who had lined the Esplanade, Walton crossed the line, arms raised as he claimed his first Australian title. Amey was second and Craig Alexander finished third.

“I haven't really been thinking about the Australian title. I've never really come to Mooloolaba thinking about winning it, but I got some confidence out there on the bike leg,” Walton said.

“I saw Paul (Amey) win the 5km the other night and I knew he was going to be the one to watch for in the run. But it was actually one of those days when things just came together.”

“I really worked the back half of the bike leg coming back into the wind. It's the way I always race and sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't. T oday I was lucky,” he said.

Conditions were extremely tough with hot and windy conditions and only 37 of the 57 starters completed the race.

Male 
1. Craig Walton    (AUS) - - 34:43 1:47:55  
2. Paul Amey (GBR) - 1:00:15 32:24 1:49:41  
3. Craig Alexander (AUS) - - - 1:50:15  
4. Reto Hug  (SUI) 17:21 - - 1:50:34  
5. Andrew Johns  (GBR) 17:11 - - 1:50:43  
6. Olivier Marceau (SUI)  17:16 1:00:15 33:15 1:50:46  
7. Marc Jenkins  ( UK )   - - 33:23 1:50:50 
8. Shane Reed  (NZ) 16:13 1:01:04  33:40 1:51:38  
9. Mike Agrioz  (SUI) 17:18   59:14 35:06 1:51:38 
10. Matt Hopper (AUS) 17:10  - - 1:52:04  
  
Female 
1. Liz Blatchford  (AUS)  17:27  1:03:46 37:38  1:58:51  
2. Rina Hill (AUS)  17:26  1:03:52  38:01 1:59:19  
3. Loretta Harrop   (AUS)   17:29 1:03:45  38:55 2:00:09  
4. Felicity Abram  (AUS) 18:15  1:05:53 36:54 2:01:02  
5. Melanie Mitchell  (AUS) 17:10  1:03:59  40:37 2:01:46 
6. Nicola Spirig (SUI)  19:12  1:04:47  37:51   2:01:50  
7. Kiyomi Niwata  (JAP) 18:21   1:05:46  37:52  2:01:59  
8. Mirinda Carfrai   (AUS) 19:08  1:04:53  38:44 2:02:45  
9. Annabel Luxford  (AUS) 17:17  1:03:58 42:01 2:03:16  
10. Nikki Egyed  (AUS) 19:06  1:04:52 39:33 2:03:31