Saturday the 7th of December was the time for the sprinters of the Kurrawa Beach Squad to show what they are able to during The Outback Jacks Summer Surf Sprint Series at the Gold Coast Turf Club.
Amidst the thoroughbred races on the turf, the beachies from Ryan Hoffman’s stable competed on the track for a share in the total of 30.000 dollar in different handicapped 70m and 120m races of which one was especially organised for Surf Life Saving Club members.
Representing Kurrawa were Sienna Higgins, Catherine Donaldson, Mandi Maritz, Brandon McMahon, Sam Mispelhorn, Jake Mispelhorn, Robert Hendriks, Andy Gordon and Helena Grono. Since coach Ryan Hoffman wasn’t able to be there on the day, Ben Mispelhorn took the honours of overseeing the squad.
Despite a heroic fight young Sienna Higgins went to the wall in the 70m gift, great effort battling in a race open to both men and women of all ages. Later in the day Jake Mispelhorn was able to defend the Kurrawa colours in the final. And he did well! A brilliant 3rd place considering the experienced fast runners he raced, really promising for the rest of the competition season!
Catherine Donaldson and Mandi Maritz were the two Kurrawa girls that made it into the women’s 120m gift final. A huge performance, as the Aussie Beach Sprint champion Nicole Kay and a Fijian Olympian sprinter were just some of the fast competitors lining up. Despite a huge effort the girls weren’t able to stamp their mark on the final, but still an amazing 5th place for Mandi and a 6th for Cate, both taking a share of the 5000 dollar prize money.
As with a lot of things, the sensations came almost at the end of the day during the Surf Life Saving Club 120m runs. Great was the disappointment when the present Kurrawa Life Savers found out that only one entrant per club was allowed. For the girls Mandi Maritz was selected. In the men’s department it first was Jake Mispelhorn, but he gave the honour to Robert Hendriks to start in his first grass track race. And he didn’t disappoint. Although it was close, it wasn’t close enough. Robert still managed to obtain a second spot and secure his first podium place for Kurrawa!
The beef happened to be in the women’s Surf Club race, with Mandi Maritz blasting away the competition and taking home 1000 dollar in prize money for 1st place. Congratulations!
Next stop for the Kurrawa beachies: Fastest Man on Sand, 14 December, Maroochydore
Bovenstaand artikel is een weergave van een gemiddelde handicap race zoals deze vooral plaatsvinden in Australië en Schotland. Races worden gehouden over verschillende afstanden, waarbij geldt dat hoe sneller je bent, je des te verder achter de rest van de deelnemers start. Dit wordt zo afgemeten, dat iedereen in theorie ongeveer gelijk over de finish, zodat de beste atleet van de dag ook wint. In Nederland zou dit een atletiekwedstrijd zijn. In Australië staan deze sporten ook los van elkaar, maar zijn er veel atleten die beide sporten beoefenen. Zeker aantrekkelijk met het prijzengeld dat op elke braderie-wedstrijd bij elkaar te lopen is.
Voor het team van Kurrawa waar de Nederlander Robert Hendriks deel van uitmaakt, staat zaterdag 14 december, de eerste ronde (van 3) van de "Fastest Man on Sand" op het programma in Maroochydore. Tijdens deze wedstrijd vinden alleen de sprint beach events plaats. Daarover later hopelijk meer!