The 2025 champions have been crowned at the Mooloolaba Triathlon, with Kieran Storch and Charlotte McShane taking out the men’s and women’s titles on Sunday.
Poor water quality following recent rain meant that the swim portion of the event could not take place, with athletes starting their day with a beach run before continuing with the 40km ride and 10km run, with the finish on Mooloolaba Esplanade.
Kieran Storch won the men’s title in 1:28:12, edging out Kurt McDonald by just five seconds, with Jye Spriggs rounding out the podium.
McDonald was first back into transition following the ride and got an early lead on the 10km run before Storch closed the gap and made his move in the final stages to take the win.
“It was a pretty good day obviously when you win, bit of an interesting one with no swim but it doesn’t make it any easier at the end of the run, it’s always pretty hot and humid out here,” said Storch. “Like everyone you just have to adapt, I knew it would be a bit hectic on the bike and it was, I tried to get away a couple times, but there were too many strong guys so it was just about positioning then for the for the run, I knew it would be a tough run.
“Kurt was really good down the hill on the bike and through the technical sections and just lightning out of T2, so probably got 10 to 15 seconds out of T2 and just gunned it, probably took three k to catch him,” he said. “Then we were just neck and neck until the last k. Kurt tried a couple of attacks to shake me and I was able to just hang on so I’m happy.”
Charlotte McShane was the class athlete of the women’s race, hitting the front early and never looking back, winning the title in 1:45:41, more than three minutes ahead of Kathryn Krosch, with Kerry Morris third.
“I’m pretty tired at the moment, it’s a really tough day out there, even though we weren’t able to swim it was still a super hot, tough, race and it was starting to really heat up in that run which was hard but I’m really happy I was able to take the win in the end,” said McShane. “The swim for me would have been probably my best leg today, so that was a little bit disappointing but you’ve just got to roll with it and fortunately the organizers definitely made the right call in not having us swim in the water. It ended up great with the short run going into T1, it still managed to break it up but it was tough. The run was definitely about managing my pace, I raced last weekend down in Geelong in an IM 70.3 so I knew my legs were going to be a little bit tired, so it’s just trying to run my own race and just deal with the heat well.”
The win was an important one for McShane as she focuses on the next step her in her triathlon career.
“It means a lot, it’s hard to win races, they don’t come often and they haven’t come often for me in the past couple of years. So, any time I can get a win, I’ll take it,” she said. “I’m focusing on the longer distance triathlons now, which is a new challenge for me and I’m actually planning to do my first Ironman in Cairns in a few months, so it’s a very different world for me at the moment, I’m just trying to learn.”
Sunday’s action kicked off the with Oceania Triathlon Sprint Championships, one of three key Continental Championship races for Australian and New Zealand athletes, offering crucial ranking points to secure international race starts later in the season, as well as being a final domestic showdown before athletes head into their international campaigns. Athletes raced across a 2.5km run, 20km ride and 5km run.
Australian Olympian Matthew Hauser controlled the men’s race from start to finish, crossing the line in 49:51, more than 30 seconds clear of Luke Schofield who just edged out his twin brother Jayden.
“Obviously we would have loved to have swum out there today, but thankfully the organisers made the safe call and made sure we weren’t sick after the race so that’s great but a duathlon changed it up a little bit, but I’m just happy to get out there and have the win with so many young juniors out there today, it’s great to see the young crop of Australian triathlon coming back,” said Hauser.
Hauser got himself to the front of the race early and didn’t look back, hitting the 5km run leg first and extending from there to take the win.
“I just wanted to execute my race all the way through, lead off the run, lead into T1 and T2 and just hit the little one percenters, all things you can practice before you get to the biggest stages,” he said. “I love racing in Mooloolaba, it’s one of my favorite race locations, last time I raced here I think it was 2020 back when we had the World Cup, so hopefully World Cup racing can return to Mooloolaba, but for now it’s great to be racing back here and fantastic to see all support out there, all the age groupers racing under the sun which is great.”
New Zealand’s Nicole Van Der Kaay claimed the women’s Oceania Triathlon Sprint Championships title, with the two-time Olympian finishing in 57:26, just ahead of Australian duo Ellie Hoitink and Sophie Malowiecki.
“We showed up this morning thinking it was going to be a triathlon, unfortunately the water conditions just cancelled the swim, we never hope for that, but I’m still so grateful we got a race in as there’s been many cancellations for this race,” said Van Der Kaay. “I haven’t trained to do a duathlon, I haven’t done it many times and wasn’t too sure how to go in but I just wanted a solid race, it’s early days and about getting as much experience as I can.
“I’m feeling great, I mean last year was a bit of a flop so I’m already on my way up and feeling more like myself in training and racing so I couldn’t ask more right now,” she said.
Thousands of athletes took part in Sunday’s Standard Distance Mooloolaba Triathlon, with a sold-out Aquabike category also in action.
