Ironwoman Georgia Miller (Northcliffe) has won her third consecutive 2022/23 Series round, while defending Ironman Champion Ali Day (Surfers Paradise) made his return to the top of the podium in Sydney today.
The cutthroat Survival format saw 12 athletes drop off during races one and two, leading the 8 athletes fighting for the title in the third and final race at Sydney’s Maroubra Beach.
With the Ironwomen racing first, Miller came off the board in eighth after the opening board leg, but managed to swim her way into second before finishing strong on the final ski leg and crossing the line in first place.
The 26-year-old Northcliffe Ironwoman said she couldn’t have been more happier for another win in Sydney, with her friends and family in the crowd, watching on.
"I'm on top of the world. That was incredible and it was really nice to be able to enjoy the finish rather than yesterday where it was so close. It was awesome to be able to run up and soak it all in,” Miller said.
"My tactic for today was literally to survive! I just wanted to get to that last race as best and as comfortably as I could... but nothing felt comfortable after yesterday's racing.
"It's so special to have my whole family here again today, I think I'll need to fly them to the Gold Coast for rounds 5 and 6 because I think they have been my good luck charm," she said.
Queensland IronWoman Lucy Derbyshire (Surfers Paradise) secured her first podium of the season in second place, while New Zealander Danielle McKenzie (Northcliffe) backed up yesterday’s third-place performance with another podium finish in third today.
In the Ironman race, defending Nutri-Grain Series Champion Ali Day led from the start to secure his first win of the 2022/23 series.
After battling injury in the first two rounds, Day said he felt his form return this weekend, picking up a first and third place.
“I said to a lot of people yesterday that I felt like I was getting back in my groove and starting to chip away at it,” the Queenslander said.
“It just helps so much in the Survival format when you’re out in front. I was able to have waves to myself, have space today, have room to breathe, and have the time in between races to settle myself. I felt like the longer the day got, the better I got.
“I was in uncharted waters in the first three rounds [this season], compared to the last two years where I’ve won almost every race I’ve gone in. When I finished Manly, I walked up the beach pretty frustrated and angry, so I went away and worked really hard on the things that I could do and that I could control.
“I feel like I just put it all out there today and I’m really grateful for the team I have around me.”
Ben Carberry (Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park) backed up his winning performance on Saturday to place second, while NutriGrain Next-Gen athlete Auden Parish (Northcliffe) took his first Ironman podium, with third in his debut season.
The 20-year-old Queensland Nutri-Grain Ironman Series debutant said:“It was pretty unexpected to be honest, but so awesome.
“Being one of the youngest in the field, obviously my first Series, and watching these boys [Day and Carberry] growing up, it’s pretty epic to be sharing a podium with them.
“There was a lot of doubt [at the start of the Series], I was like ‘should I be in this Series?’ I didn’t have the confidence, but as I started to get into each round, I started to get a bit more confident, and was like ‘oh I’m actually enjoying this’, I’m racing my teammates and they’re all around me, so it’s like a family around me and my confidence kept growing.”
While Georgia Miller and Ben Carberry hold their place on top of the leaderboard heading into the final rounds, the unpredictable nature of Surf Life Saving means there will be plenty on offer come rounds 5 and 6.
The final rounds of the 2022/223 Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series will be held at Kurrawa Beach, QLD on 4 & 5 February, both broadcast on SBS.
