ALMOST eight minutes separated Adelaide’s Steve McKenna from the rest of the field in the 30th anniversary Kingston Triathlon on the weekend.
McKenna crossed the finish line in first with a time of 1.51.32, defeating 2017 winner Jack Tierney who finished the Olympic course in 1.59.08 to place second.
Adelaide’s Claire Fenoughty was the first female across the line with a time of 2.14.3, while the always-competitive Jen Sturm was not far behind with a time of 2.15.19.
Kingston Triathlon Club president Ali Stillwell said there was a number of talented athletes, which produced great racing.
“We had some great tussles in both the male and female sections of the Olympic course,” she said.
“Both Steve and Jack, and Claire and Jen had close races, with the lead changing dramatically in the run leg.
“Steve and Claire both powered through the run, which made the battle very exciting.”
McKenna – who has competed in a number of Kingston Triathlons – enjoyed the calmer conditions this year.
“The race went really well and the weather held up this year making for an enjoyable swim,” he said.
“It was amazing swimming out there in the clean and clear open water.
“Everyone seemed to either have improved a lot on last year or had a great experience as usual.”
Both McKenna and Tierney have been neck-and-neck over the last couple of seasons, which has provided competitive viewing for the spectators.
“It’s been great having Jack there to make each race a hard one,” McKenna said.
“We’ve been battling it out for the last two seasons and I think it’s taken us to a whole new level being able to whip each other each race.”
After competing at Glenelg the previous weekend, McKenna is off to the Ironman Geelong 70.3 this weekend which will round out a busy month of triathlons.
For female winner Claire Fenoughty it was an extra special day, winning her first Kingston Triathlon.
“It always feels amazing to have a win especially in a tough race and it also feels pretty special to have a win in a race that some very talented girls have won in the past,” she said.
“What an awesome race, first time for me and I had heard a lot about how tough the course can be in windy conditions, but Mother Nature really turned it on for the 30th anniversary with pods of dolphins along the swim course, light winds and sunshine.
“It was great to see lots of people of all ages out there having a go, competing and cheering everyone on.”
The Superkidz division had 36 competitors, while the Fun Run/Walk was low on numbers, but was still great to see support go towards the Kingston SE Men’s Shed.
“The Triathlon SA whole junior development squad attended the triathlon this year, which was great,” Stillwell said.
“We had lots of very close times in the short course, with many finishing in under an hour.”
Local Kingston team ‘Hey Doc’ took out the short course for the teams, with Sam Robertson swimming the 500m, Bryce Smith cycling the 13.3km and Henry Rothall running the 3.6km.
Stillwell said the extra inspirational highlight from Sunday’s event was Sid James and Kevin Fergusson.
“It was absolutely amazing to watch them,” she said.
“Particularly to watch Kevin push and pull Sid around the short course.
“They were amazed by all the support, and everyone cheered them on.”
Sid and Kevin finished the race together with a time of 2.58.49.
‘Will Power’ (William Hay, Terry Johnson and Bill Mallyon) were back as well, this time with a slight name change ‘Seventies Will Power’ but showing that, at any age, you can be a strong competitor.
They completed the Olympic course in 2.57.57.
It was another successful event, with many people happy to help in any way.
“A huge thank you must go to all the volunteers and marshals, I really can’t speak highly enough of the support we get for this event,” said Ali.
“Every request has been met with a generosity that I can’t put a value on, the committee has been fantastic as always, and Patrick Doyle does a great job as race director.”
