A ‘family affair’ in swim-run
Defending champion cheers sister, partner to wins
IF defending her Burleigh Swim Run title was not an option, the next best thing for injured triathlete Kira Hedgeland was cheering on partner Brandon Copeland and sister Jaz Hedgeland to the promised land.
Sidelined with a shoulder injury, Kira watched from the beach as Copeland (16mins 11sec) claimed top billing in the elite open category and Jaz (20:06) the first female across the line at Burleigh Beach on Tuesday morning.
Copeland had to stave off fellow triathlete Matthew Hauser (16:33) for the secondconsecutive year en route to his third straight Burleigh Swim Run crown.
A welcome departure from his usual gruelling triathlon events, Copeland said he embraced the pressure that came with his quest for a threepeat.
“It definitely does bring a bit more pressure being defending champion, but it also makes you want to defend it that much more,” the Kingscliff local said.
“This year we had our whole training group there. I knew there was going to be several strong blokes there, which was good, having some friendly competition.
“I got away to a pretty good swim; got on to the second wave that rolled through and got a good body swim in. Came out of the water second or third and then went from there trying to pick them off.”
Hauser was first out of the water and held pace for the first lap of the run, before Copeland made his move on the second lap and pushed away to claim the win.
In what was her maiden appearance at the annual Australia Day event, Jaz Hedgeland crossed the line first – outlasting rivals Aspen Anderson (20:22) and Eva Parish (20:41).
The older of the Hedgeland sisters, Jaz sat out the Burleigh Swim Run last year nursing a niggling calf complaint and watched as her sister ran to the 2020 title.
With the roles flipped this year, she joked there was “pressure on me to keep it in the fam” – and so she did.
“That’s exactly what she (Kira) said – if she wasn’t able to race, it was good to pass the win on to me,” Hedgeland said.
“I wish we could have done it together, but she was stoked for me.
“Hopefully we can do it again next year.”
Both members of the Triathlon Australia High Performance program, Copeland and Hedgeland now have
eyes on the Oceania Championships in Devonport at the end of February.
With international competition still a mystery as the world battles COVID-19, Copeland said he would take the year “as it comes” and jump at any domestic offerings over the next few months.
Hedgeland meanwhile has her sights set on an Australian team berth and subsequent seat on the plane to Tokyo in July.
“The focus now is keeping consistent as best we can and
if something comes up we’ll be ready,” she said.
“Ideally Tokyo goes ahead and I’m hoping to get a spot with Australia there. That’s the ultimate goal.”