Branch accepts big TSS exam
Jacobs’ healthy outlook makes big difference
IN 2019 Mackenzie Branch was in Year 11 and batting above his age in The Southport School First VIII.
Now, he’s leading his crew’s Head of the River tilt.
The 16-year-old didn’t make a crew in his second year of rowing but has since improved at a rapid rate to the point he’s attempting to qualify for Australia’s youth rowing team.
Now in his second season in TSS’s most prestigious crew, Branch said he had attempted to lead from the front.
“Last year I was the young gun and I tried to keep my head down and work hard but for my final year I have felt more surrounded by people I know and I have tried to be a leader in this year’s crew,” he said.
“I believe because I got the opportunity to row in the First VIII last year I was able to give some knowledge to the other boys in the crew and try my best to help the new boys in the crew.”
With just today’s regatta standing between TSS and the Head of the River next Saturday, Branch is drawing upon his family’s rowing past to inspire him as his time at TSS draws to a close.
Both of Branch’s older sisters rowed for St Hilda’s First VIII and his grandfather is a TSS old boy who has been avid in support of his grandson.
“I have always looked up to my sister as she went through the same thing that I am going through now,” he said.
A COMPLETE health overhaul that took Pete Jacobs out of triathlon for a year now has him believing he can win a second world ironman title.
The 2012 ironman world champion will headline the field at the Tweed Coast Enduro long-course race today as he prepares to have another crack at reaching the sport’s premier event in Kona, Hawaii.
Long-course competitors will race through the northern
“I remember seeing how emotional and meaningful their Head of the River was and it gave me the interest to join rowing.
“Their best advice is to stay calm and don’t let the pressure get to you.”
Branch also believes he will be better off next weekend after experiencing the anticipation of rowing’s biggest day last year.
“Head of the River last year was one of the biggest moments in my life,” he said.
“It was the final time that I got to row with the boys I had been training with for so long.
“Everything came down to the final race.
“I was very nervous before my race but as soon as the race started all of that goes away.
“It is a very sad thought knowing that this is my final season racing for the red, white and blue.
“It has been an honour getting to race in my school colours at the highest level.
“I really hope that I am able to live up to the standards of the old boys that came before me.”
The Brisbane Grammar School Regatta begins today at 8am at Wyaralong Dam.
NSW region on a 1.9km swim, 90km bike ride and 21.1km run.
The Noosa resident disappeared from racing at the end of 2017 and has now opened up about his health battle and search for answers that would provide him with a better life and the greatest performances of his career at the age of 38.
“I’ve improved my health but it’s taken many years to figure out the root cause of my health issues,” Jacobs said.
“I have reverse mitochondrial dysfunction. Your mitochondria is where everything is made and what gives you life.
“I’ve been dealing with an issue of fatigue since I was 15 but your body can get away with a lot more when it’s young.
“I took 2018 off racing completely. I was pushing through my many years with ups and downs but it wasn’t just about being competitive.
“It was about functioning well as a human being, a husband and person.”
Jacobs doesn’t consume any processed food, avoids blue light at night, even replacing blue bulbs with red ones, and is in bed by 8pm each day to ensure he gets the rest he needs.
The result is a body doing things it has never been able to do before.
“I’m healthier now than I have been for 20 years,” he said. “I have done more running than I have done in my entire life and been able to average big kilometres for the last six weeks.”
Jacobs will be joined at the event by his wife Jamielle
Jacobs, who will be racing in the 35-39 age category over the half-ironman distance.
Jacobs said he would start his season off at the Tweed Coast Enduro before shifting his attention to the Cairns Ironman, where a spot at the world titles could await.
If he gets back to Kona, Jacobs says he can challenge the likes of reigning champion and three-time winner Jan Frodeno. “I’m trying to focus on the possibilities and the future still,” Jacobs said.