Bennett Makes It Two In A Row

Illawarra Mercury

Tuesday May 11, 1999

with MIKE GANDON

World Cup champion Greg Bennett and former world titleholder Jackie Gallagher won the St George 1999 Australian triathlon championships in wet and windy conditions at Mooloolaba on Sunday.

Both Bennett, from Sydney, and Queenslander Gallagher won in convincing fashion.

The event also doubled as the International Triathlon Union Oceania regional championships with the first three male and female competitors automatically qualifying for the world championships in Montreal, Canada, in September.

In the opening swim leg Bennett and fellow New South Welshman and former world champion Chris McCormack were first out of the water with New Zealander Shane Reed on their heels.

With 40km of cycling in front of them McCormack and Bennett got down to business, with Reed finding the pace too fast and subsequently dropping off the back.

McCormack and Bennett worked as a pair and had a 2min 20sec lead on the chasing pack going into the cycle-to-run transition.

The second pack included Hamish Carter (NZ), Greg Welch (NSW) and Miles Stewart (Qld).

In a repeat of last week's World Cup performance win, Bennett exited the cycle-to-run transition with a sprint and was soon at cruising speed with McCormack finding the chase just too difficult.

Meantime Carter, Stewart and Welch continued to make up ground on McCormack, finally overhauling him after three laps of the four-lap course.

But it was Bennett who showed what a world-class athlete he is in a powerful running display to make it back-to-back national titles.

Over the closing stages of the run Carter put on a surge to drop Welch, who took third with Stewart finishing in fourth place.

In an emotional performance following the recent death of his mother, McCormack struggled over the last few kilometres of the course to finish 13th.

Bennett displayed great camaraderie and waited at the finish line to embrace McCormack.

In the women's event Gallagher, who had to withdraw from the World Cup in Sydney the previous weekend because of illness, came from behind to run herself to victory.

Gallagher was with the leaders as they exited the water to the bike, including current triathlon world champion Joanne King (Vic), Rina Hill (Qld), Melissa Ashton (NSW) and Tracey Hargreaves (NSW).

However, 30km into the 40km bike leg, Hill was dropped from the lead pack as Hargreaves continued to push the pace.

With a sprint, Hargreaves headed out on to the run with Gallagher, King and Ashton in hot pursuit.

But it was Gallagher who quickly went to the front and never looked back as she took her second national title over the distance.

King, who had been shadowing Hargreaves, finally overhauled her at the 6km mark to secure a well-deserved second place.

Hargreaves held steady to take bronze with Ashton in fourth.

The junior elite men's event was a closely contested race with David Dellow (Qld) coming from behind to out run New Zealander Nathan Richmond in a close finish.

Melanie Mitchell (NSW) led from start to finish to win the junior elite women's title.

Earlier in the day, more than 1800 individuals and 300 teams competed in the age group event in challenging conditions to conquer the course.

***

Illawarra riders fared well in round six of the State downhill mountain-bike series at Ourimbah last weekend.

Ryan Lennox came second to Andrew Mills in the expert men's division, which saw him increase his lead in the overall championship.

Dean Park was second in the sport men's with Aaron Davis fifth.

Although Michael Drury badly sprained his wrist in qualifying, he rode courageously to finish 12th in junior division and be in the top 10 overall.

***

Wollongong's former world duathlon champion and national road-cycling titleholder Jonathan Hall has recovered from his fractured ankle and returned to racing in a one-day event in Madrid last Sunday.

Hall will start in the Tour of Asturias today.

``I feel okay but am not super fit as my ankle is not 100 per cent and on Thursday I had a heavy fall while training - mostly lots of skin but I'm stiff also," Hall said.

© 1999 Illawarra Mercury

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