NEWS

Brendan Sexton the top man at 2012 OTU Oceania Championships in Devonport

By Merryn Sherwood | 10 Mar, 2012

Australia’s Brendan Sexton turned an unexpected opportunity into the best possible result in Australia on Saturday, when he claimed his first Elite Men’s Oceania Championship in Devonport.

Sexton put in a stellar run leg to beat New Zealand’s Kris Gemmell, the reigning Oceania Champion, and Australia’s Aaron Royle, in a race that was never part of his original plan this year.

The 26-year-old had to withdraw from the Australian sprint championships in Geelong a fortnight ago after his bike seat worked its way loose, and added Devonport to his 2012 plan to get in one final race before the ITU World Triathlon Series opener in Sydney. But the late schedule addition ended up working perfectly, as Sexton posted the fastest run split of the day, a time of 30 minutes 57 seconds, to take the win.

“I needed to go into the ITU World Cup and the ITU World Championship round in Sydney with a full race under my belt and after what happened in Geelong I added Devonport to my schedule and now I’m glad I did,” said Sexton.

“But there is no doubt my win today was a team effort. The Australians worked well together to ensure that it came down to the run and I was just lucky enough to get across the line ahead of the Kiwis. We knew we had to work to our strengths and that was the last 10km.

“I felt good and it was important to have as much petrol in the tank as I could when I got off the bike and I knew when Courtney (Atkinson) and Kris (Gemmell) took off I had to go with them and after the first lap I felt great and just kept going.”

His win not only played a part in helping Australia take another step towards securing an all-important third spot on the team for London, but also kept his name very much up in lights.

“Sydney is the race,” Sexton said. “That’s where I will have to perform but I guess my performance here today will certainly keep me on the radar.”

Australia’s James Seear led the men out of the water in Tasmania, with Courtney Atkinson, Mitchell Kealey and Tony Dodds just behind.

A pack of 15 then formed on the bike, including Atkinson, Dodds, Gemmell, Royle, Bevan Docherty, Ryan Bailie and Ryan Fisher, and they hit T2 with about a minute on the next chase pack. While Gemmell and Atkinson led out early, it didn’t take long for Sexton to hit the front and stay there.

Gemmell’s second place also secured him the 2012 New Zealand national championship, while Tony Dodds came in fourth and Atkinson fifth. Chris McCormack put in the eighth fastest run of the day to finish 14th, while Docherty failed to finish.

With files from Triathlon Australia

Related Event: 2012 Devonport OTU Triathlon Oceania Championships
10 Mar, 2012 • event pageall results
Results: U23 Women
1. Simone Ackermann RSA 01:58:31
2. Sophie Corbidge NZL 02:00:09
3. Rebecca Kingsford NZL 02:01:42
4. Teresa Adam NZL 02:02:19
5. Chloe Turner AUS 02:05:03
6. Gillian Backhouse AUS 02:07:08
7. Laura Wood NZL 02:08:04
8. Alessia Orla ITA 02:11:31
DNF. Penny Hayes NZL DNF
DNF. Sarah Deuble AUS DNF
Results: U23 Men
1. James Hodge AUS 01:49:41
2. Tom Davison NZL 01:50:01
3. Matt Brown AUS 01:51:04
4. David Mainwaring AUS 01:51:58
5. James Chronis GRE 01:52:26
6. Mike Phillips NZL 01:52:58
7. Shane Farrant AUS 01:54:33
8. James Davy AUS 01:55:05
9. Brayden Tucker AUS 01:55:16
10. Robert Huisman NZL 01:55:20
Results: Junior Women
1. Mikayla Nielsen NZL 01:05:00
2. Jaz Hedgeland AUS 01:05:10
3. Tamsyn Moana-Veale AUS 01:05:22
4. Maddie Dillon NZL 01:06:08
5. Elise Salt NZL 01:06:19
6. Ellie Salthouse AUS 01:06:56
7. Anna Coldham AUS 01:07:24
8. Justine Guerard FRA 01:07:25
9. Brittany Forster AUS 01:07:42
10. Natalea Smith AUS 01:08:21
Results: Junior Men
1. Marcel Walkington AUS 01:00:30
2. Kenji Nener JPN 01:00:54
3. Joel Tobin White AUS 01:01:10
4. Sam Ward NZL 01:01:33
5. Kieran Roche AUS 01:01:36
6. Matthew Baker AUS 01:01:47
7. Luke Farrell AUS 01:01:57
8. Jacob Birtwhistle AUS 01:01:58
9. Christian Wilson AUS 01:01:59
10. Braden Ludlow AUS 01:02:05
Results: Elite Women
1. Emma Jackson AUS 01:56:36
2. Ashleigh Gentle AUS 01:57:26
3. Erin Densham AUS 01:57:43
4. Debbie Tanner NZL 01:57:56
5. Nicky Samuels NZL 01:58:22
6. Natalie Van Coevorden AUS 01:58:45
7. Charlotte McShane AUS 02:02:43
8. Ashlee Bailie AUS 02:06:11
9. Matilda Raynolds AUS 02:08:57
DNF. Rebecca Clarke NZL DNF
Results: Elite Men
1. Brendan Sexton AUS 01:46:46
2. Kris Gemmell NZL 01:47:27
3. Aaron Royle AUS 01:48:02
4. Tony Dodds NZL 01:48:33
5. Courtney Atkinson AUS 01:48:35
6. Martin Van Barneveld NZL 01:48:50
7. Ryan Bailie AUS 01:49:14
8. Drew Box AUS 01:49:54
9. Ryan Fisher AUS 01:49:57
10. Mitchell Kealey AUS 01:50:10