Jeffcoat and Hauser take Wins at Australian Championships

Emma Jeffcoat and Matt Hauser have claimed emphatic wins at the Australian Elite Sprint Triathlon Championships in Devonport this morning.

In cool and breezy conditions, both athletes let their experience and expertise shine as they dominated their respective races from start to finish to claim the Australian titles.

Jeffcoat executed a near perfect race, powering through the 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km run entirely solo to secure the Australian title.

Speaking on her win, Jeffcoat said she felt like her performance today was an accurate reflection of her thorough training and race preparation.

“I felt really good out there today. I’ve been feeling really awesome at training across swim, bike and run,” Jeffcoat said.

“I said to Danielle [Coach] that all I wanted to do today was just show to myself that my form in training is there in racing, and I was able to do that today so I’m really happy.”

Exiting the water at the front of the pack, Jeffcoat made the most of her early lead placing good distance between herself and the rest of the pack. Kelly-Ann Perkins and Lotte Wilms weren’t far off the pace, putting down some solid time before getting swallowed up by the chase pack.

Jeffcoat maintained her lead well into the run, storming home to the Australian Sprint Championship title. Gillian Backhouse and Jaz Hedgeland looked strong off the bike, however it was Perkins who put together an outstanding final leg. Picking up the pace off the bike, Perkins did well to run herself into second place from sixth at the final transition. While Jaz Hedgeland worked hard in the chase pack throughout the race, before finally breaking away out of T2 to take third.

Matilda Offord, Emma Hogan and Charlotte Derbyshire hung tough with their senior counterparts throughout the race. Putting in the hard yards to stay with the main chase pack on the bike, it all came down to the run. Offord dug deep to sprint home to the Under 23 title, with Hogan and Derbyshire taking second and third, respectively.

Hauser put together a cool, calm and collected performance in Devonport this morning to take home both the Elite and Under 23 Australian Sprint Championship titles.

Following training partner Matt Roberts out of T1, Hauser played a smart and tactical race. Joining forces with Roberts and Max Stapley, the trio worked well together to maintain a significant gap on the chase bike group.

In the final stages of the race Hauser’s experience shone, with the Queenslander gapping Roberts and Stapley out of T2 to find the breathing space needed to comfortably run home with the win. Jayden Schofield narrowly outsprinted his brother Luke for the second Elite and Under 23 podium position.

In the Australian Junior Championships, Jack Crome and Chloe Bateup gave thrilling performances to secure themselves their first Australian Junior Championship titles.

Jack Crome came away victorious in the Junior Boys, pulling away on the run to sprint home to the title. Crome found himself up the front of the race right from the start, working alongside James Olson-Keating, Harry King, Rory Thornhill and Peyton Craig in the swim and the bike to keep the main chasers away. With Thornhill and King right with him off the bike, Crome let loose on the run to sprint home to the Australian Junior Boys Championship title. King sprinted into second, with Thornhill keeping pace to take third.

Chloe Bateup put on a show in the Junior Girls race, going solo on all three legs to secure the Australian Junior Girls Championship in 1:06:07. Exiting the water alongside Georgie Fredericks, Bateup pushed hard early on the bike to secure herself a good lead. With Fredericks, Emma Olson-Keating and Kelsey Mitchell chasing hard, Bateup upped her pace to power into T2 with a solid lead. Pushing ahead, Bateup finished with a confident run to take out the title, with Mitchell running into second and Olson-Keating in third.

Elite Women
1st – Emma Jeffcoat
2nd – Kelly-Ann Perkins
3rd – Jaz Hedgeland

Under 23 Women
1st – Matilda Offord
2nd – Emma Hogan
3rd – Charlotte Derbyshire

Elite & Under 23 Men
1st – Matt Hauser
2nd – Jayden Schofield
3rd – Luke Schofield

Junior Women
1st – Chloe Bateup
2nd – Kelsey Mitchell
3rd – Emma Olson-Keating

Junior Men
1st – Jack Crome
2nd – Harry King
3rd – Rory Thornhill