Kelly medals at state surf ironman
Warragul athlete Chris Kelly has won a gold and silver medal at this year’s state Surf Life Saving Ironman Championships.
The championships involved a 2km surf ski leg, 1km rescue board leg, 800m swim and a 4km run leg.
Having qualified for the championships through elimination style heats at club level, Kelly said preparation for the championships had involved an intense training schedule which consisted of numerous hours swimming and running along with sessions on the surf ski and rescue board.
Aside from the heavy training load to prepare, participants are required to serve their community as a surf life saver, with Kelly switching his patrols between beaches at Inverloch and Cape Patterson, near Wonthaggi.
The state championships were held on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula, which included the run leg of the race held on Beach Road, attracting large crowds of public spectators.
Conditions were perfect, contributing to a fast pace race which saw the under 18 champion Lucas Waters lead the swim leg.
The under 18 champion put up a strong fight but succumbed to the more experienced seniors mid-way through the race.
The final run leg saw a breakaway group pushing hard, crashing into each, with others trying to break free of the pack.
With 100 metres left in the race Will Garbelotto made his move, finishing 10 metres ahead of Kelly to take overall race honours.
Kelly was the first male across the line in his age group and second overall.
Kelly aims to compete at state and national level each year, and also competed in the world championships when they were held in South Australia in 2012, where he finished fourth.
Kelly’s state championsahip result sees him qualify for the national championships held in Western Australia early next year.
Kelly said he would follow a similar training regime before making the switch to ultra racing, which are long distance running events.