Footy star’s new goal
MATT Geappen has replaced the Sherrin, his mouthguard and footy boots with Lycra, the bike and bathers to continue feeding his competitive streak.
The former Tassie Devil, Clarence and North Hobart star is now a dedicated triathlete and will tackle tomorrow’s 750m swim, 20km ride and 5km run in the Tasmanian championship Seven Mile Beach Triathlon.
“I started doing a bit of running post footy and did a marathon and then ventured into triathlons and really enjoyed it,” said Geappen, 38.
“There is no doubt it has filled that competitive void.
“I’ve got a group of mates I cycle with and a group I swim with and also a group of mates I run with so it is that sort of team environment I enjoy and also enjoy the banter we get up to on the WhatsApp forum and so forth, so it is always a bit of fun.”
It will be a hotly contested event, with more than 170 interstate racers bumping the field up to 240 competitors.
Geappen is hoping to rep- resent Australia at the world age group triathlon in September, gunning for one of only six places in the 35-40 category.
“You need to do three races, so I’ll do this one, one in Melbourne in early February and one on the Gold Coast in late February and chase maximum points for those to try to get into the six spots to qualify,” Geappen said.
“That’s the goal and we’ll see how we go.”
Taroona’s Sophie Moore, 17, will be hoping to go one better after being pipped in a sprint finish at the event last year.
“We’ve got almost 30 juniors coming down from the mainland so it will be a lot more competitive in the junior field this year, which will be really good,” Moore said.