The Capricorn Resort Half
Ironman - Round Two –Australian National Half Ironman
Series
It’s Central Queensland's largest
individual participant winter sporting event, and
the race now known as the Capricorn
Resort Half Ironman – Yeppoon has this year drawn already over 300 individual entries and teams
to the sensational Capricorn Resort for the second round of the Half Ironman
National Series.
And in 2009 the race
celebrates a decade of Half Ironman triathlon racing in
the central QLD area. In that time over 5,000 triathletes,
friends, supporters, families and spectators have gathered annual at Yeppoon
for the race, held each August.
With athletes jetting and driving in from
around Australia, the now veteran event may have reached its first decade, but
is still proving an ever stronger drawcard to the central Queensland coast. In
2009 the race is looking to set new records for participation, as organisers,
X-Tri Australia, expect the field to fill, for the very first time ever.
“Last year we broke the 500 person field
barrier for the very first time and this year it really appears we’ll max the 600
person field out well before the official close of entry at the end of July,”
says race director, Nick Munting. “The Capricorn Resort Half Ironman has
enjoyed steady growth throughout its ten year history, and in celebrating its
first decade, is now one of the senior races on the Australian triathlon calendar.”
“The event has seen many of the top
athletes in Australia take their first major wins here, and others have cemented
their reputation with a local victory in Yeppoon. In recent years we’ve seen
Rebekah Keat take an amazing trio of victories here and Leon Griffin made this
his breakthrough win before taking the World Duathlon Championship.
Belinda Halloran and David Dellow were our first winners here. Belinda Granger
has performed well at the Half Ironman after winning the inaugural ultra
distance race here, and Kate Major made this her breakthrough victory. Jason
Shortis and Courtney Atkinson have also been big winners in Yeppoon also.
Whilst they haven’t been at the ‘pointy end’ of the field there are two
competitors, for whom the race has been a major part of their lives in the last
decade. 26 y-o Adrian Ellul of Mackay and 43 y-o Clintyn Barnes from Toowoomba are
the only remaining athletes to have competed in each and every Half Ironman in
Yeppoon and each hopes to notch up number ten on August 16th!
On that day there’ll be around 600 athletes also looking to make the
first step on the road to Ironman, each looking to make the race a personal
best performance. And following the race a presentation dinner at the Capricorn
Resort is planned for those athletes to celebrate a decade of competition in
Yeppoon.
All the triathlon action happens from 8:00am, Sunday August 16th from the Capricorn Resort - Yeppoon,
supported by the Capricorn Resort - Yeppoon, Enervit,
Blue Seventy, Tropical Ford, Wurths Motorcycles and Tuckers Cycles. Saturday prior to the race there’ll be an expo of sports
gear and triathlon at the resort, together with registration for the big race.
Entries remain open at www.capricornhalf.com
for both individuals competing in the 2009 Capricorn Resort Half Ironman, and for
those would be Ironmen and women who believe the 1.9km swim, 90km ride and 21km
run may be a little long, the race also allows teams of two or three persons to
compete in the Ultimate Aussie Team Challenge that runs alongside the Half
Ironman race over the same distance.
