tony
Admin
Admin
| Posts: 3127 |  |
Karma: 14
|
Nutri Grain Series - Coolum - 2008/02/17 18:41
SHANNON ECKSTEIN PRIMED FOR A SHOT AT KELLOGG’S NUTRI-GRAIN HISTORY
COOLUM, February 17: Shannon Eckstein has taken a major step towards Australian Surf Lifesaving history after an all-the-way victory in a rain-swept round four of the Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Iron Man Series at Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast today.
Eckstein (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish) led from start to finish in a comprehensive display while Coolangatta Gold winner Alicia Marriott (Western NIB Waves) added another impressive women’s victory to her round three win on Saturday.
Competitors had to qualify through three individual ski, swim and board races before the top 10 on the accumulated pointscores qualified through to the finals.
The men’s field had to battle driving rain and wind which blinded competitors as they paddled towards the turning buoys on the final board leg.
“You had to work really hard and at one stage you just couldn’t see at all,” said Eckstein.
“We started the race in sunshine and finished it in driving rain – it had it all.”
The 24-year-old dominated the final from the opening ski leg, milked a wave for all its worth in the swim and it was enough to give him a winning break on the final board leg, with Zane Holmes (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish) and Wes Berg (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins) in hot pursuit.
But even he knew he had to work, looking back to see Holmes and Berg on a wave twice the size of the one he was on.
The win gives Eckstein (69) a three-point Series buffer on arch rival Holmes (66) who finished second today, holding off Berg, who claimed his first podium finish of the Series.
The cream of Australia’s ironmen and ironwomen will head to Coogee on March 1 for the $200,000 Series final.
If Eckstein can take the crown in 2008 he will become the first man in Australian Surf Lifesaving history to win three National Iron Man Series in a row after Holmes had won in 2004 and 2005.
It will also be Eckstein’s fourth crown after he won his first title in 2003. His Northcliffe team mate Kristy Harris won a record four-straight titles between 2004 and 2007.
“It’s what I aim for every year…to win the Series three years in a row would be really something,” said Eckstein.
“When it is decided over five rounds then there is no luck – but the job is not done yet; with the final worth double points I only have three points over Zane so I have to be at him again at Coogee.
“At the moment it’s mine to lose, I have put the pressure on myself.”
Today’s women’s final saw Marriott assert her dominance on the field with another comprehensive win over Series leader Elizabeth Pluimers with her Sunfish team mate Terri Sullivan, claiming her first podium finish of the Series.
Marriott, who learnt to surf at the City of Perth under her current coach, Western Australian ironman legend Greg Mickle and swim trains under renowned swim coach Rick Turner, was again full of running today.
“I was a little sluggish in the individual races but felt much better in the final,” said Marriott.
“I knew I had to try and stay with the pack on the ski and have a good swim before the board leg and it paid off again.”
The tall, lean university student has emerged as one of a group of next generation iron women who will have a shot of winning their first Series.
But as good as Marriott was over the weekend she will have to be on her game again to peg back Pluimers who leads the pointscore on 61 points from Marriott (53) with Naomi Flood (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers) third on 50 points.
Meanwhile in the mass board rescue the Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers pairing of Hugh Dougherty and Courtney Hancock held off Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins combinations of Drew Cairncross and Chelsea MacKenzie and Wes Berg and Alyce Bennett.
The Taplin Relay also saw the Blue Fins chalk up their first win of the season with Cairncross and Candice Falzon (swim), Berg and McKenzie (ski) and Nathan Smith and Alyce Bennett (board), with the Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers second and the Southern DHL Ice third.
Meanwhile in the team points score the Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish have maintained their lead on 23 points ahead of
the Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins (17),
the Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers (16),
Southern DHL Ice (15),
Northern QLD Beach House Lightning (9) and t
he Western NIB Waves (four).
2008 Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain Ironman Series: Round 4: Coolum: Sunshine Coast: Men: Ironman:
Shannon Eckstein 18 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Zane Holmes 17 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Wes Berg 16 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Nathan Smith 15 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Hugh Dougherty 14 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Luke Nisbet 13 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Pierce Leonard 12 (Southern DHL Ice)
Corey Jones 11 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Jacob Lollback 10 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Daniel Shade 9 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Dean Mercer 8 (Southern DHL Ice)
Wade Krieger 7 (Western NIB Waves)
Chris Allum 6 (Southern DHL Ice)
Drew Cairncross 5 (Northern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Tim Peach 4 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Kyle Garrett 3 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Brendon Sarson 2 (Western NIB Waves)
Matt Poole 1 (Western NIB Waves)
Ski:
Shannon Eckstein 18 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Daniel Shade 17 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Zane Holmes 16 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Pierce Leonard 15 (Southern DHL Ice)
Wes Berg 14 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Hugh Dougherty 13 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Dean Mercer 12 (Southern DHL Ice)
Nathan Smith 11 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Wade Krieger 10 (Western NIB Waves)
Luke Nisbet 9 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Kyle Garrett 8 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Tim Peach 7 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Jacob Lollback 6 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Corey Jones 5(Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Chris Allum 4 (Southern DHL Ice)
Matt Poole 3 (Western NIB Waves)
Drew Cairncross 2 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Brendon Sarson 1 (Western NIB Waves)
Swim:
Luke Nisbet 18 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Jacob Lollback 17 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Chris Allum 16 (Southern DHL Ice)
Drew Cairncross 15 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Shannon Eckstein 14 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Corey Jones 13 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Wes Berg 12 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Hugh Dougherty 11 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Zane Holmes 10(Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Nathan Smith 9 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Wade Krieger 8 (Western NIB Waves)
Pierce Leonard 7 (Southern DHL Ice)
Dean Mercer 6 (Southern DHL Ice)
Tim Peach 5 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Daniel Shade 4 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Kyle Garrett 3 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Brendon Sarson 2 (Western NIB Waves)
Matt Poole 1 (Western NIB Waves)
Board:
Jacob Lollback 18 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Pierce Leonard 17 (Southern DHL Ice)
Wes Berg 16 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Hugh Dougherty 15 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Corey Jones 14 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Nathan Smith 13 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Shannon Eckstein 12 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Daniel Shade 11 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Dean Mercer 10 (Southern DHL Ice)
Zane Holmes 9 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Wade Krieger 8 (Western NIB Waves)
Luke Nisbet 7 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Tim Peach 6 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Brendon Sarson 5 (Western NIB Waves)
Matt Poole 4 (Western NIB Waves)
Kyle Garrett 3 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Drew Cairncross 2 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Chris Allum 1 (Southern DHL Ice)
Women: Ironwoman:
Alicia Marriott 18 (Western NIB Waves)
Elizabeth Pluimers 17 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Terri Sullivan 16 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Alyce Bennett 15 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Naomi Flood 14(Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Gemma Newbiggin 13 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Allira Richardson 12 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Kristy Munroe 11 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Sheree Merryful 10 ( Southern DHL Ice)
Bonnie Hancock 9 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Flora Manciet 8 (Southern DHL Ice)
Bianca Lee 7 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Emma Wynne 6 (Western NIB Waves)
Courtney Hancock 5 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Chelsea MacKenzie 4 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Brodie Moir 3 (Western NIB Waves)
Chloe Jones 2 (Southern DHL Ice)
Candice Falzon 1 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Ski:
Naomi Flood 18 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Kristy Munroe 17 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Elizabeth Pluimers 16 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Flora Manciet 15 (Southern DHL Ice)
Terri Sullivan 14 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Sheree Merryful 13 (Southern DHL Ice)
Gemma Newbiggin 12 (Northern Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Courtney Hancock 11 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Allira Richardson 10 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Alicia Marriott 9 (Western NIB Waves)
Chelsea MacKenzie 8 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Alyce Bennett 7 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Brodie Moir 6 (Western NIB Waves)
Bianca Lee 5 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Bonnie Hancock 4 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Emma Wynne 3 (Western NIB Waves)
Candice Falzon 2 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Chloe Jones 1 (Southern DHL Ice)
Swim:
Naomi Flood 18 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Bianca Lee 17 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Emma Wynne 16 (Western NIB Waves)
Kristy Munroe 15 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Bonnie Hancock 14 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Courtney Hancock 13 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Alicia Marriott 12 (Western NIB Waves)
Flora Manciet 11 (Southern DHL Ice)
Alyce Bennett 10 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Chloe Jones 9 (Southern DHL Ice)
Gemma Newbiggin 8 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Sheree Merryful 7 (Southern DHL Ice)
Elizabeth Pluimers 6 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Allira Richardson 5 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Terri Sullivan 4 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Chelsea MacKenzie 3 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Brodie Moir (Western NIB Waves)
Candice Falzon 1 (Southern DHL Ice)
Board:
Alyce Bennett 18 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Allira Richardson 17 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Elizabeth Pluimers 16 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Terri Sullivan 15 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Kristy Munroe 14 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Alicia Marriott 13 (Western NIB Waves)
Sheree Merryful 12( Southern DHL Ice)
Bonnie Hancock 11 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Naomi Flood 10 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Gemma Newbiggin 9 (Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning)
Emma Wynne 8 (Western NIB Waves)
Brodie Moir 7 (Western NIB Waves)
Chelsea MacKenzie 6 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Bianca Lee 5 (Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish)
Chloe Jones 4 (Southern DHL Ice)
Courtney Hancock 3 (Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers)
Flora Manciet 2 (Southern DHL Ice)
Candice Falzon 1 (Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins)
Taplin Relay:
Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins 6
Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers 5
Southern DHL Ice 4
Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning 3
Western NIB Waves 2 Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish 1
Mixed: Board Rescue:
Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers Hugh Dougherty/Courtney Hancock 18
Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins Drew Cairncross/Chelsea MacKenzie 17
Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins Wes Berg/Alyce Bennett 16
Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish Shannon Eckstein /Elizabeth Pluimers 15
Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning Corey Jones/Gemma Newbiggin 14
Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish Luke Nisbet/Terri Sullivan 13
Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins Nathan Smith/Candice Falzon 12
Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish Zane Holmes/Bianca Lee 11
Western NIB Waves Matt Pool/Brodie Moir 10
Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers Jacob Lollback/Bonnie Hancock 9
Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers Daniel Shade/Naomi Flood 8
Southern DHL Ice Dean Mercer/Flora Manciet 7
Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning Kyle Garrett/Kristy Munroe 6
Western NIB Waves Wade Kreiger/Alicia Marriott 5
Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning Tim Peach/Allira Richardson 4
Western NIB Waves Brendon Sarson/Emma Wynne 3
Southern DHL Ice Chris Allum/Chloe Jones 2
Southern DHL Ice Pierce Leonard/Sheree Merryful 1
Progressive Pointscore: Ironman:
Shannon Eckstein 69
Zane Holmes 66
Hugh Dougherty 56
Nathan Smith 55
Corey Jones 54
Pierce Leonard 49
Wes Berg 47
Luke Nisbet 43
Dean Mercer 33
Wade Krieger 31
Ironwoman:
Elizabeth Pluimers 61
Alicia Marriott 53
Naomi Flood 50
Allira Richardson 44
Kristy Munroe 42
Alyce Bennett 42
Courtney Hancock 40
Chloe Jones 40
Sheree Merryful 39
Bianca Lee 38
Teams:
Southern QLD Telstra Sunfish 23
Southern NSW Yamaha Blue Fins 17
Northern NSW Inner Health Plus Hammers 16
Southern DHL Ice 15
Northern QLD Beach House Fitness Lightning 9
Western NIB Waves 4
Kim Hamilton| Account Manager
Hanson Sports Media | P O Box 299 | West Burleigh Qld 4219
Phone: +61 7 5522 5556 | Mobile 0438443406 | Fax: +61 7 5522 5557
kIm.hamilton@hansonsportsmedia.com | www.hansonsportsmedia.com
|
