Atkinson threepeats Noosa
Australian Courtney Atkinson won a hard fought duel with fellow Beijing Olympian Kris Gemmell of New Zealand to take his third straight win at the Noosa Triathlon while 2010 Ironman Hawaii runner-up Caroline Steffen of Switzerland won and proved she has short course speed at this classic Australian spring event.
Atkinson and Gemmell caught up with an early swim-bike leaders that included six-time Noosa winner Craig Walton and long course specialist Paul Matthews about halfway through the 40k bike. At the end of the bike, Walton and Matthews made a 20-second break, but quickly into the run Atkinson broke hard and took the lead and held on for a 12-second margin of victory over Gemmell in 1:46:54.
Gemmell took second, 64 seconds ahead of newcomer Peter Kerr of Australia, who took third.
Walton, the hall of fame non-drafting star who is coming back from a three-year-retirement from professional racing, was beset with back problems and faded to 12th.
"There was probably more anxiety today than in the previous two wins because of the competitors I had to race against,” Atkinson told race organizers. "This was actually difficult for me because since Craig's retired, at times, he's helped me and I'd call him a bit of a mentor who has pointed me back in the right direction."
Atkinson added, "At the 3km mark I thought ‘Help, I’m going to pay for this.' I thought if I could get away it might just play with their heads. My tactics were ideally to get rid of Kris. Noosa is too fun to battle someone in a sprint finish. If you win you want to enjoy it here."
“I was really happy with my race, I gave it everything I had,” Gemmell told Noosa race organizers. “In the first 500 meters of the run Courtney went out of the gates ballistic, and I knew there was no way I could keep up with that, I just tried to peg him back.”
Steffen topped runner-up Australian Ashleigh Gentle by four seconds and third place Nicky Samuels of New Zealand by 2 minutes 12 seconds.
Last year’s Noosa winner Emma Jackson of Australia took 4th.
“I’m very surprised and very proud to come first,” Steffen, who is coached by Team TBB coach Brett Sutton, told Noosa media support. “It was really hard especially on the run and in the last 1km.”
Steffen added that after Ironman she did nothing for one week, and “Then I started to pick things up and have been enjoying the last three weeks and focused on getting ready for this race.”
Ashleigh Gentle, age 19, stepped up to Olympic distance racing and claimed second place after a sizzling fast 34:46 run leg to finish just four seconds behind Steffen.
Nicky Samuels led the field out of the water followed by youngster Amy Roberts, Olympian Maxine Seear and Emma Jackson. A strong bike leg by Steffen saw her ride clear of the field over the non-drafting course despite giving away a minute lead in the swim.
“Usually in Ironman you have a 5-6 minute lead so it’s different to have someone much closer to you," she told Noosa media support. "I’m not a good sprinter so I pushed really hard to show the girl coming at me that she had no chance. ”
Steffen was the first to hit the run course, Samuels next, about 30 seconds off the pace. Jackson was next, but more than a minute further back. At the 3km mark, Steffen increased her lead over Samuels and Jackson while Gentle charged hard, took over second and closed fast, but Steffen was tough enough to hold on for the win.
Noosa Triathlon
Noosa, Australia
October 31, 2010
S 1.5k/ B 40k/ R 10k
Results
Elite Men
1. Courtney Atkinson (AUS) 1:46:54
2. Kris Gemmell (NZL) 1:47:06
3. Peter Kerr (AUS) 1:48:10
4. Samuel Betten (AUS) 1:48:40
5. James Seear (AUS) 1:48:49
6. Paul Matthews (AUS) 1:49:08
7. Dan Wilson (AUS) 1:49:22
8. Bryce McMaster (AUS) 1:49:33
9. Pete Jacobs (AUS) 1:49:45
10. Mark Widmer (SUI) 1:50:01
12. Craig Walton (AUS)
Elite Women
1. Caroline Steffen (SUI) 2:01:18
2. Ashleigh Gentle (AUS) 2:01:22
3. Nicky Samuels (NZL) 2:03:30
4. Emma Jackson (AUS) 2:04:27
5. Melissa Rollison (AUS) 2:04:47
6. Kirralee Seidel (AUS) 2:05:37
7. Lisa Marangon (AUS) 2:07:59
8. Amy Roberts (AUS) 2:09:17
9. Maxine Seear (AUS) 2:14:27
10. Tara Prowse (AUS) 2:14:33
