FORSTER’S Hayden Smith will compete at the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast next year after recently qualifying in Port Macquarie.
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Smith secured himself a spot after finishing in fifth place in the 35-39 year age group with a time of four hours, 26 minutes and 30 seconds at the 70.3 Port Macquarie Ironman on October 17.
It is an impressive feat for Smith who only began competing in triathlons two and half years ago and recently took an 11-month hiatus from the competitive scene.
“I really hadn’t raced since I competed in the Hawaiian Ironman last October. My first race back since my son Duke was born in February was four weeks before the Port Macquarie race. It was on the Sunshine Coast and I probably performed the worst I ever have there,” Smith admitted.
“Your first race back is always going to be hard. The distance was the same as the Port race though so it actually helped me get back into the swing of things.”
Smith said he is “really happy” with his performance in Port as qualifying for worlds was his number one goal.
“I ended up having the fastest swim of the whole day,” he said.
“My plan was to swim and run as fast as I could and it turned out really well.”
The world championships may not be until September 2016, but Smith, who owns McDonald’s in Forster with his wife India, said other than a short break over summer, his training won’t stop.
“I won’t stop. I train all the time anyway. I do about 15 hours a week and that usually doubles when I’ve got a race coming up,” he said.
“I’ve got a race in six weeks time in Canberra so that’s my next goal but I’ll probably have a bit of a break over summer. That’s usually our busiest time at Maccas.
“From February onwards I’ll start training again.”
Smith said he won’t be focussing too much on his overall position at worlds.
“Whether I come first, tenth or 100th it doesn’t really matter. If I know I’ve performed to the best of my ability then I’ll feel I’ve done well regardless of where I’ve placed at the end.”
Fellow Forster Triathlon Club member Rhett Pattison from Taree also secured a spot for the World Championships by coming fifth in his age group (40-44 years) with a time of four hours, 40 minutes and eight seconds. A total of five members of the Forster club raced at the Port Macquarie Ironman.
