16 Feb 06 - read Local Newspaper Article
10 Feb 06 - read Steve Cannard's Race Report
11 Jan 06 - While temperatures are sitting quite uncomfortably around the 40 ° in Goondiwindi ...
...it means only one thing to the Goondiwindi Triathlon Club, that the inaugural “Hell of the West” Triathlon can only be weeks away. The club are hard at it, finalising the finer details to ensure that this year's race is as big of a success as in previous years.
With electronic timing from 'Timing Wizards' returning again as well as over $8000 worth of cash and prizes up for grabs, the 2006 event is sure to be another benchmark in the Australian Triathlon calendar. And of course, who could forget, the Major Random Draw Prize. Thanks to Chris Langdon of ZIPP Australia one lucky athlete will take home a ZIPP Flashpoint wheel set.
The entries are looking fantastic for the upcoming race on Sunday February 5 th , with numbers exceeding that of last years. Tri Edge In-Training Triathlon Club will be returning again this year in numbers, after last year's effort when they showed up at the Goondiwindi Town Park in a double-decker bus!
Defending champion, Cameron Watt will also be returning for the 3 rd time to battle the ‘murky McIntyre' 2km swim, the ‘dead flat' 80km cycle and the ‘hot as hell' 20km run. Since he won the race last year in a fantastic time of 3:47:16, Cameron has gone on to win the Qld State Sprint Championships and place in the Yeppoon ½ Ironman & the Caloundra Triathlon. Notably, he also placed 9 th overall in the prestigious Australian Ironman.
Fellow teammate and returning Hell of the West athlete Rebecca Preston will make the trip from the coast to compete once again. Rebecca's credentials since last years race look somewhat of a European holiday, placing 1 st in the UK Ironman, 1 st in two Half Ironmans in France, and ranking in the top three in two Olympic Triathlons in Switzerland. She finally wrapped up her 2005 triathlon year by competing in the notorious Hawaii Ironman, placing 11 th.
Entries for the race close January 27 th . If you have any questions or inquiries about the race or Goondiwindi, please do not hesitate to Brianna or David on the details listed in the ‘contact us' section. For entrants that have completed their registration, good luck with the training and we look forward to seeing you all in Goondiwindi, February 5 th.
Goondiwindi Triathlon Club
2 Dec 05 - Paraplegic David Wadge to tackle the 2006 Diesel Care Hell of the West Triathlon.
On the 5 th of February 2006 paraplegic David Wadge will be the first athlete with a physical disability to attempt Goondiwindi’s infamous Hell of the West triathlon.
David has been forced to tackle many major obstacles in his life since a motor cycle accident 15 years ago left him as a low break paraplegic. In May 2001 David was the first paraplegic to climb Ayers rock & is currently preparing for an arduous 3000km hand cycle challenge from Melbourne to Mooloolaba in May 2006.
David lives & trains on the Sunshine Coast & completes an extensive program of training each & every week incorporating 3 sessions of swimming around 1 to 2 km per day, 350-400km per week of hand cycling & ???km per week in his racing wheelchair.
David is also a sought after guest speaker with his “No limit lifestyle” company providing inspiration to anyone that has heard him speak about his dreams & ambitions in life. A “can do” attitude means David regularly competes in many activities including charity bowls events, swimming & triathlon events & water sports including knee boarding, canoeing & even parasailing.
Hell of the West Race director David Vincent was surprised when David first rang about the possibility of doing the event but after careful consideration the Goondiwindi Triathlon committee decided to accept David’s entry to create a historical first for the 14 year old event.
“ We have never been asked to take on a physically disabled competitor before so it was a bit of a new concept for us” said David. “ However David’s desire to do the event & his willingness to accept some guidelines & conditions we have implemented to make the event as safe as possible for both David & his fellow competitors made the decision to accept his entry a easy one in the end. David will complete exactly the same swim & cycle legs as all the other competitors but for a section of the run leg we will be utilizing the roadway adjacent to the levee bank pathway. This will make it safer for both David & the other competitors as the pathway is too narrow to accommodate David’s racing wheelchair & travelling at an average speed of 20km per hour David will certainly complete the run leg in record time.” David said.