Some things change, but most things stay the same. That was the overwhelming takeaway from the first round of the Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman series on Friday, with both races taken out by former series champions.
While the women's race saw a dominant victory, the men were neck and neck, with some surprising results.
Raced at North Bondi beach, round one utilised the ‘Endurosurf’ format that saw the athletes complete six total legs, in the order of swim - board - ski. This meant the races were long, and made room for plenty of action.
Check out more on the IronMan and IronWoman series here.
IronWoman Round 1 - 1st: Harriet Brown 2nd Lana Rogers 3rd: Hannah Sculley
Harriet Brown was unable to finish last year's series, retiring due to injury, but she wasted no time in reminding everybody that she still belongs on top, in a dominant display that saw the Northcliffe athlete finish the race with no opponents in sight.
Harriet Brown has mastered the swell at North Bondi Beach & is your Round 1 @NutriGrainAU IronWoman winner 🌊💪 #IronSeries pic.twitter.com/0CMsF5SHBG
— IronSeries (@IronSeries) January 14, 2022
Veteran Courtney Hancock got off to a hot start, as did reigning champion Lana Rogers, but the drama began early as Rogers surrendered her lead after paddling to the wrong can on the ski, falling from first to the middle of the pack.
This was all that Brown needed, pulling away from the rest in a win that saw her move almost a full minute ahead of her competition at one stage.
It was a perfect day at North Bondi, and Brown delivered the perfect result, winning by a wide margin, a fact that she said was on her mind the entire race.
“I caught a wave early and I was so nervous the whole way through thinking that they might catch me,” Brown said.
“Last year was a pretty tough year, with injury I didn't end up getting to finish the series, so it's just been a long process of rehab and it's just so nice to be back racing.
“To race well makes all the hard work feel worth it.”
IronMan Round 1 - 1st: Ali Day, 2nd: Jy Timperley, 3rd Kendrick Louis
It was close, but Ali Day extended his streak to seven wins straight, taking out the opening round of the IronMan series after going six-from-six in last year's series, and taking out the championship for good measure.
That makes it 7 for 7! Ali Day has continued his unbelievable winning streak by starting off the 2021/22 @NutriGrainAU #IronSeries with a bang!#Unstoppable pic.twitter.com/MQEWAOAIWZ
— IronSeries (@IronSeries) January 14, 2022
As the tide lowered, the surf rose, and as a result, chaos reigned for most of this race - three separate times a small group of athletes extended their lead, only to have the main group catch up on a party wave.
While the women’s race was a one-woman show, the men were tightly contested, with the trio of Ali Day, Jy Timperley, and rookie Finn Askew all sticking to each other over the course of the six legs.
Askew, who is Day’s training partner at Surfers Paradise Surf Club, even seemed to get the jump on the field at one point, before the reigning champion reeled him back in.
However, heartbreak ensued for the youngster - a botched start to the ski leg and an even worse wave in saw him drop to fifth place, after being in medal contention the whole way.
For Timperley, the race must have felt like groundhog day; the Burleigh Heads - Mowbray Park athlete finished on the podium in all six events last year, finishing second only to Day.
However the biggest surprise was Kendrick Louis, the seasoned ironman seemingly appearing out of thin air to claim the third podium spot after looking out of it for most of the race.
Speaking after his win, Day credited his young training partner for pushing him the whole way and talked about his goal for the series.
“It sounds funny when you say seven from seven but today was literally just getting off to a really good start, if that meant winning it meant winning, but also I was just going for consistency today,” Day said.
“It's the start of a really long series, I just wanted to get off to a good start.
“[Finn Askew] was pushing me there the whole time, and I know [TJ Hendy] and [Max Beattie] were there too, so we’ve got something special in the water [at Surfers Paradise] at the moment and I’m really lucky I've got someone like Finn there to train with and push me every single day.
“I felt sorry for him at the end there, I really hoped he was either going to win or get on the podium and he ended up with the choccie medal, so I really hope he gets a win in this series.”