The University of Queensland (UQ) have been crowned the 2022 UniSport Nationals Triathlon Champions after taking out both the men’s and women’s competitions last weekend.
Over 190 students from 26 Australian universities competed in the Mooloolaba Triathlon from 12-13 March. UQ and Queensland University of Technology (QUT) had the highest representation, with 67 and 46 student-athletes respectively. UQ topped both point scores to secure the university its’ first championship pennants for 2022.
UniSport CEO, Mark Sinderberry, is pleased to see such a strong response to the return of UniSport competitions for what is looking to be a promising year following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are delighted that so many student-athletes have chosen to represent their university at the triathlon championships. We’ve seen a considerable increase in participation since the last time we hosted at Mooloolaba which is suggestive to the strong desire for the return of sport and events amongst the university community,” said Mark.
The 30th year of Mooloolaba Triathlon started with the sprint races on Saturday, with 66 student-athletes taking to the scenic course. First year QUT student, Jack Crome (Bachelor of Business Marketing, Bachelor of Data Science) claimed a strong win in the men’s race, two minutes ahead of Oliver Seawright (second) and Shaun Stevens (third), both from UQ.
In the women’s sprint race, Kirsty Beattie (Bachelor of Law (Honours) & Bachelor of Science (Psychology)) from The Australian National University dominated the race, claiming the UniSport Nationals gold medal in a time of 01:12:42. Her closest competitor, Georgia Ensbey of UQ finished nearly three minutes later with Olga Firsova of Curtin University rounding out the podium in third.
On Sunday, thousands of athletes tackled the standard distance event, including 139 student-athletes competing in the UniSport Nationals championships. In the men’s event, Michael Boult of University of Tasmania completed the race in 01:56:11, also qualifying for a professional triathlon license following his strong performance. QUT’s Ryan Marsh won the silver medal and Max Quirk of UQ claimed the bronze medal a short time later.
History repeated itself for QUT’s Romy Wolstencroft (Bachelor of Engineering) in the women’s race. Wolstencroft claimed her second UniSport Nationals championship after she won the gold medal in the same race in 2019. She was joined on the podium by Lauren Hume (Bachelor of Health, Sport and Physical Education, UQ) and Emma McInnes of University of Sunshine Coast (Bachelor of Exercise Physiology).
UQ Sport Student Experience Manager, Emma Taylor praised the efforts of the team.
“The University of Queensland is thrilled to be crowned overall champions at Nationals Triathlon. We are so proud of the 67 student-athletes representing the university last weekend. To have 19 athletes place in the top 15 (across the four races) is a testament to the strong triathlete community at the university,” said Emma.
With two Nationals Div 1 pennants to their name, UQ is sending a strong message to the other universities about the strength of their teams this year.
“We are looking forward to taking this momentum into the rest of the UniSport Nationals championships throughout the year,” Emma added.
The 2022 UniSport Nationals series continue with Athletics and 3x3 Basketball taking place in April.
To see how your university fared, and to view the full triathlon results, head to www.unisport.com.au/triathlon-div1.
For more information, please contact Eloise Ayre, Nationals Events Manager – Sport, eloise.ayre@unisport.com.au or 07 3876 2610.
About UniSport Australia
UniSport Australia (UniSport) is the peak national governing body of university sport in Australia. In partnership with universities, UniSport drives student success by demonstrating the value of sport through evidence-based advocacy and by providing participation and competitive sporting programs at a national and international level.
For more information unisport.com.au
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