Three triathletes from a local Whitsunday club have completed the ultimate endurance test by not just finishing the gruelling and iconic Half-Ironman 70.3 World Championship in the United States but doing so in style.
Whitsunday Triathlon Club members Daniel McDonnell, Alisha Rust, and Michael Kimpton represented their countries of Australia and New Zealand – as well as their homes in Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island at the world-renowned event in late October.
Amongst the finishers, Hamilton Island firefighter Daniel McDonnell had what ranks as one of the most remarkable achievements for a Whitsunday athlete ever: finishing 13th in the World in his age group of 18-24, coming in just a mere six minutes after the age group’s first place winner.
Whitsunday Triathlon Club President Michael Kimpton said it was “a sensational effort as Daniel has only been competing in triathlons for a few years”.
“The community and potential sponsors need to get behind Daniel as he will be a World Champion one day,” Michael said.
Alisha Rust, a Hamilton Island resident and schoolteacher, competed in the 25- 29 age group. Rust had what was an exceptional event as well, with a fast swim, solid bike ride – with the hilly terrain suiting her skillset - and a swift run to finish.
In his capacity as a competitor, Michael Kimpton competed in the 65-69 age group in a memorable day but professed that he “lacked in the leg department” with only three weeks between his previous competition for the famous Kona Hawaiian Full Ironman.
The Ironman 70.3 World Championship was hosted in St George, Utah, a city famed for its breathtaking scenery of red rock canyons and deserts – tough conditions in a tough event.
Competitors must qualify for the prestigious world championship event which has just over 100 countries represented with a parade of Nations March through town prior to the event.
The event required thousands of volunteers to assist on both days of competition, as women competed on Friday and men on Saturday with a massive 5,500 athletes all up.
The event commenced with a 1.9-kilometre swim at Sand Hollow Reservoir in three-degree conditions. Next came the challenging 90-kilometre bike course, which led athletes through stunning desert landscapes with a 3200-foot elevation gain, and an “unforgettable climb” of eight-kilometres up Snow Canyon State Park.
The final stretch is the half marathon run course where athletes perform two loops of 10.5-kilometres through the stunning Red Hills Parkway Golf course and historic downtown St George streets and parkland – with over 700 feet of elevation, all as the day warmed.
Competitors at the half-Ironman Daniel McDonnell, Alisha Rust, and Michael Kimpton of Whitsunday Triathlon Club
Kimpton and Rust in front of a wall of competitors signatures from the world championship half-Ironman in Utah
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