A top surf sport official has tipped Illawarra athletes to be potential Ironpersons of the future after great performances in the first round of the 2023 Sydney Water Surf Series.
More than 700 of the state’s top surf sport athletes competed in the event at Warilla Beach on Saturday, October 21. For more than two decades, the annual carnival – the longest-running surf sports series in New South Wales – has attracted first-rate competitors of all ages to Illawarra beaches across four rounds running from October through November.
Maddix Burke, of Warilla-Barrack Point, won the U15 Male Surf Race and the U15 Male Ironperson, while his club mate Kobe Sims placed second in those events, but won the U15 Male Board Race – Maddix was runner-up in that race.
Bulli's Zahnie Freeman won the U12 Female Surf Race and placed in 4th in the U12 Female Ironperson.
Bailey Krstevski, of Warilla-Barrack Point, placed 4th in the Open Male Ironperson and 5th in the Open Male Surf Race.
After this year's event, Sydney Water Surf Series Committee Chair Michael Jennett predicted that Ironpersons of the near future may very well emerge from the Illawarra.
“[Warilla’s] Bailey Krstevski raced [on Saturday], and he got fourth in the short course in the open category of the Coolangatta Gold only last weekend and backed up with some short course racing only a week later,” Michael said.
“Then in the younger age groups, Maddix Burke from Warilla-Barrack Point, and Kobe Sims, they got first and second between the two of them in all the under-15 events yesterday, and Maddix got a place in the Youth Challenge at the Coolangatta Gold last weekend.
“Zahnie Freeman from Bulli in the under-12s, she actually won the Youth Challenge in the Coolangatta Gold last week and backed up, so she's certainly a star of the future as well.”
Conditions at Warilla were favourable for competing nippers on Saturday morning, but later tested even the most seasoned surf sports veterans.
“It was really nice in the morning for the [nippers] – for the under-eights to the under-13s – but as the wind picked up during the day, and with the change of the tide, the swell picked up, so it was certainly challenging and probably a little bit uncomfortable in the afternoon for [the older competitors],” Michael said.
“It was an early season carnival, so it's still relatively early in the summer season, but I think the competitors that worked hardest over the off-season in the pre-season, their training showed in terms of how they conquered the conditions or mastered the conditions.”
Members of Cronulla and North Cronulla Surf Life Saving Clubs delivered a surf sports masterclass in round one. North Cronulla’s Emily Maythers won the women’s open swim, ski and Ironwoman races, whilst Cronulla powerhouses Jay Furniss and Nathan Jay claimed victories in all men’s open events – Jay won the swim, board and ski events; Nathan won the Ironman race.
On the sand, national champions Emily Rampoldi and Sam Zustovich, of Cronulla and Mollymook respectively, cemented their status as international standard competitors with wins in their open flags events, and Mollymook young guns Ashton Neall and Mischa Boniface stole the show with wins in the men’s and women’s open beach sprints.
The Illawarra’s lifesaving talent will have their chance at victory in the next round of the Sydney Water Surf Series to be held at Kiama Downs, on Saturday, November 4, followed by a unique third round at Bulli on the weekend of November 18 and 19.
“This year, this series is a little bit different for our round three event, because [it’s] getting picked up and used in the national Summer of Surf point score as well, so we're expecting probably more numbers for that specific round, and probably competitors from further afield for that as well,” Michael said.
“We're expecting more of the competitors that compete nationally in the Nutri-Grain Ironman Series to come down and compete in that specific round… and there'll be live streaming of the race finals on the Sunday through the 7plus app."