They say that surf is the great equaliser, and Round 5 of the Nutri-Grain IronSeries proved this, with the podiums looking significantly different to anything we’ve seen thus far.
Wild surf, long races, and a slightly different format provided all the carnage the athletes could bare, and left the results more wide open than anyone could have predicted.
On the women’s side, a former champion made her long-awaited return to the top, after missing the first two rounds of the series due to illness.
On the men’s, one of the sports most dominant winning streaks was finally put to rest, ended by the very man many have predicted to be the future of the sport.
Racing in the ‘Specialist’ format, which saw individual board, swim and ski races, before a handicapped iron race, Round 5 was a true test of skill, endurance, and a healthy amount of luck, and it was the viewers and fans who truly reaped the rewards.
IronWoman Round 5 - 1st: Georgia Miller, 2nd: Harriet Brown, 3rd: Brielle Cooper
Georgia Miller missed the first two rounds of the IronSeries, dealing with COVID-19 and subsequent heart inflammation.
But while her absence was notable, her return has been even more so - three rounds into the Kurrawa stretch of the series and she has netted a second place in Round 4, and flat out dominated in Round 5.
After missing the first two rounds of the #ironseries due to health concerns, Georgia Miller is back on top of the @NutriGrainAU podium!#unstoppable @majoreventsgc @destgc #majoreventsgoldcoast #playgoldcoast @lifesavingqld @BMDnorthcliffe pic.twitter.com/bz9SQkF48b
— IronSeries (@IronSeries) February 5, 2022
The Specialist format showed its teeth early, with Hannah Sculley claiming the board leg, whilst current series leader Harriet Brown finished way back in the back after losing her board following a monster set.
The swim was taken out by Lana Rogers, who was looking to redeem her less than successful Round 4 performance, and the ski leg was won by Danielle Mckenzie, after Lizzie Welborn, who lead the entire race, picked the wrong line into the beach.
This gave the final iron race a starting trio of Harriet Brown, Brielle Cooper and Hannah Sculley.
But it didn’t matter.
Georgia Miller flexed her muscles big time in this race, building such a dominant lead going into the final ski leg that she had time to get smashed, lose her ski, get back on, and still win with enough distance to give her partner-slash-handler a kiss on the way to the finish line.
“I definitely screwed it up but lucky my ski went forward not backwards,” Miller said afterwards, aware that her performance was dominant but not without fault.
“I was panicking, I was thinking surely I've lost it here, I actually think I really hurt my arm but I’ll deal with that later.”
Harriet Brown also continued her streak of podium finishes, and in doing so pulled 21 points clear of her competition on the series leaderboard, with Lana Rogers and Danielle Mckenzie now sitting tied for second place.
IronMan Round 5 - 1st: Finn Askew, 2nd: Max Beattie, 3rd: Matt Bevilacqua
Ali Day hasn’t passed the torch yet, but for one day at Kurrawa, he let Finn Askew borrow it, as the youngster claimed his first IronSeries race win in stunning fashion.
Finn Askew is the man who finally ends the incredible streak from Ali Day. After an action-packed day of racing with tough conditions, Askew has claimed his maiden @NutriGrainAU #ironseries win in Round 5!#unstoppable @majoreventsgc @destgc #majoreventsgoldcoast #playgoldcoast pic.twitter.com/H0XO87HGll
— IronSeries (@IronSeries) February 5, 2022
The men’s individual races clearly favoured the specialists of the disciplines - lay-down paddler Kye Taylor cruising to victory in the board race on his own wave, and Dan Collins producing an incredible swim to claim that victory.
The ski leg was different, as the strength and weight of Ben Carberry proved useful in punching through the heavy Gold Coast surf, leaving a starting three of Kendrick Louis, Ali Day and Dan Collins.
But once again, these conditions showed that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
Things began to feel repetitive early on when Ali Day swam his way into the lead during the second leg, but the surf gods were not on his side this time, and a party wave resulted in Finn Askew and Matt Bevilacqua entering the ski leg neck and neck.
From here, it was Bevilacqua’s race to lose, as he pushed ahead of the youngster.
But though they say fortune favours the brave, today the bravery went unrewarded - Matt Bevilacqua’s dream wave turned to a nightmare as he fell off, losing his ski, and could only watch as Askew cruised past him and into the history books.
Bevilacqua was able to recover in enough time to make the podium, third place behind Askew and wildcard Max Beattie, who seemed to appear out of nowhere and into the silver medal.
For Day, it was the chocolate medal, which won’t taste so sweet when you become accustomed to a life of gold.
But early in the series, he expressed his wishes that Askew would claim one of the series, and although it came at his expense, he will no doubt be excited to see his young teammate reap the rewards.
Askew seemed too excited to fully talk after this race but said that there was no other way he would have wanted to win.
“The surf is so exciting, it's proper big out there, and you've got to take your chances where you can get them,” Askew said.
