By Albie Firley

After 12 months of swimming, wind trainer sessions, countless laps of the tan, weekly massages, Saturday morning bricks, Sunday morning long runs, and of course racing the super competitive Challenger series qualifiers, the destination event which was planned for by so many athletes world wide, the ITU World Triathlon Championships on the Gold Cast had finally arrived, and Queensland decided to put on one hell of a showcase, picture perfect weather, a super fast race course, and an excellently run event which could not be faulted. 

As the twelve strong team Tribal members settled into the presidential suite a week before the race, one could instantly sense a very special 'team' atmosphere building as race day drew closer. Settling into our two penthouse apartments overlooking Main Beach and the not to distant ITU race venue, we had the perfect location and accommodation, including all the exuberant luxuries one would expect from a star filled summer holiday.

The hotel dining room quickly transformed into what resembled the Fitzroy cycles showroom floor with our perfectly calibrated machines just itching to burn rubber. The fridge was stacked full of fruit, veggies, Powerade, mince, sauces, sundried tomato's, olives, 10 avocados, and milk. The pantry quickly filled with Natural Company lollies, Powerbars, whole meal pasta, breads, and all sorts of cereals. Multiple lap tops were powered, the 200 inch mega TV set on Fox Sports, and with cool tunes blasting away in the background we were settled, feeling like home away from home in no time. Almost all the Tri-bal crew who were staying at the hotel had arrived by that night so we decided to cook our first 'team' dinner. The unanimous vote for meal selection was made by Jacquie, Mitch, and Albie with Spaghetti Bolognese being served, compliments must go all round as this meal unequivocally proved that Triathlete's could definitely cook up one hell of a storm!  

The following day, the weeklong 'Worlds' festivities really begun, with the first Championship event being the ITU Aquathlon consisting of 2.5km/1000m/2.5km distances. This run-swim-run event was non-wetsuit due to water temperature passing 22 degrees, and with air temperature well above 26 degrees we had perfect racing conditions. This all out sprint race was a great way to open the week for the few who felt the need for a hit out before the main event, and a great hit out is what they got! As expected the action was furiously fast, with thousands of spectators on hand cheering like crazy, Tribal's very own 'Noosa' resident Geoffrey Van Wachem put in a stellar performance to place 2nd thus taking out the silver medal for the 2009 ITU Aquathlon.  

There was action aplenty off the race track as well with continuous myriad at Tri-bal hotel. Coach Sleemann was continually organizing our team training logistics, with the help of Jo Neumann and Tri-bal support crew Dan Arbib, and Koya Marney. Squad members staying in other areas were forever popping in for quick visits, as well as friends and family dropping by to wish every one luck. Peter and Jo Tosh had made a remarkable 6,000km trip from Cable Beach in Broome WA down the Coast to see Liz in action, and with big brother Campbell Tosh being one of the official Tri-bal photographers the Tosh clan had an exciting week of celebrations to look forward to. Michelle O'Toole's better half Russell was also armed with his camera as well as his bike, thus helping the crew navigate their way around the training course. Emma Foster's younger sister Amy was also in town to see her big sister take on the world's best, as well as Jake and Lewy Mitchell and Steve Carson who were looking forward to see Mitch perform on the race track as well as on the local disco dance floor.

Following the opening 'warm up' race was the Parade of Nations and Official Opening Ceremony which provided a very special and exciting introduction to the World Championships. The Australian team paraded as one to the 'event lawn' where we were closely followed by all the other competing countries. The atmosphere during the parade was simply fantastic, as each country was announced into the venue a huge raring cheer would sound followed by deafening applause. This was truly a very special time for all Triathlete's donning their country's colors, this was easily one of the most notable moments of the week which will be remembered by all who shared this experience, we were all absorbed by a great sense of pride in wearing the green & gold.

The festivities continued with the Australian Age Group Team Dinner where the Caterers seemed to run out of food, yes it's true Triathlete's do eat more then anyone can imagine so planning to feed such a group must have been a nightmare for organizers. After speeches from Politicians and event officials, Greg Welch, Michellie Jones and Miles Stewart were honored as the inaugural inductees into Triathlon Australia’s Hall of Fame. Emma Snowsill then presented the elite U23 team with their race suits in front of more then a 1000 strong crowd. A great night was had by all, however we did feel terribly underfed post presentations, hence the crew stopped in for some late night take away pasta on the way home, and the night ended back at the hotel with a movie/pasta combo, what a great day!

Waking up to a gloriously sunny Friday (pre Olympic race day) our morning pre-race training instructions from Andy were very simple, and from memory he only needed to tell everyone once! An easy lap of the bike course followed by transition practice, and then off to Bike racking and Transition check in. I've always loved the pre race day short/sharp session and judging by the mood of the whole team that morning so does everyone else. The multitudinous Tri-bal team spirit on display at the hotel is almost indescribable, we were all racing as individuals but you would never have guessed by the 'team like' atmosphere the group developed during the lead up to this race. We were in this together with encouragement, mate ship, and general positive upbeat from everyone so great, the mood of the Tri-bal crew was simply electric.

So the last practice session was at hand with transition training the focus. Not wanting to give any of our training secrets away to the international athletes in the area, Andy somehow organized this practice session on an empty rooftop car park which remarkably worked a treat, and even more pleasing was the fact that no one missed a beat. Trying to control my excitement at that time, I remember thinking to myself, 'we are ready'. So off to bike racking we rode. After booking our machines into the huge 'event lawn' transition along with the other 4000 or so Triathlete's, most of the crew visited the massive Sport and Lifestyle Exhibition picking up some great bargains on new 'bling' tri gear. The rest of the day was spent relaxing between catching waves at the beach, playing Nintendo, hydrating, eating plenty of food, and just putting the feet up, this was the life! Carbo loading dinner was organized early that night with yep you guessed it, Spaghetti Bolognese take away for the 3rd night in the row!  

Race morning, the sun was shining early with clear blue sky's and no sign of any wind, one could sense this was going to be a great day. It was around 7am when the official ITU announcement came thru that water temperature had dropped below 22 degrees overnight, hence it was to be a wetsuit swim which was pleasing to hear. This development was somewhat overshadowed by a perplexed Mitch Kibby who was frantically searching the whole building for his helmet. Luckily we had spares of nearly everything and Mitch's terror was quickly put to rest, unbeknown to the young champion at that time was the fact that he actually left his helmet with his bike in transition the previous day.

The rest of the morning seemed to progress in fast forward mode. The next thing I knew, I was standing on the beach swim start waiting for the starters gun to go off. This was it, this was the race I had been preparing for the last 10 months, and just as these thoughts went thru my head..... BANG we were off and racing! The 1500m 'one direction' swim was flat, easy to navigate, and almost enjoyable. Exiting the swim into T1, one was instantly greeted with deafening applause and barracking by a swarming beach of spectators, after a quick sprint to the bike, the wetty was off and I was away. After a faultless running bike mount and take off, I remember thinking to myself 'transition practice makes perfect', thanks Andy!

The two lap 40km cycle course was as flat as a pancake and extremely fast with very favorable weather conditions. There was however massive congestion out on the course which proved very dangerous to the unlucky few who were involved in accidents, luckily none of the Tri-bal crew suffered this fate and we all finished in one piece. Holding around the 50 kmph mark for the majority of the first lap I remember thinking to myself the last 6 months of wind trainer punishment is paying off big time, I just hoped the legs hold up for the upcoming run.

Off the bike in record time, and onto the two lap 10km run for home. At first the legs felt as fresh as the Sunday morning runs we all love so much, but then the temperature seemed to instantly climb from warm to hot and the body became almost instantly uncomfortable with everything starting to feel heavy with hurt, but when is it that the body doesn't cry out when running off the bike!?! The 'out and back' run course was also very flat, and it really gave oneself a good chance to view the hunt and the chasers. The streets were lined with thousands of spectators making so much noise one could hardly hear oneself think, loud barracking with continuing screams of 'Go AUSSIE Go' made for one hell of a great race atmosphere. The remainder of the run seems like a blur now and appeared to be over just as quickly as it begun, the final run down the blue carpeted finish chute is always a highlight, surrounded by packed grand stands it was like running into the heart of a huge party. On hand were camera crews, photographers, and reporters taking brief interviews. This ITU Championship event experience was all that I expected plus a whole lot more thus bringing my Worlds race to a very satisfying end.

Sunday night's event BBQ and Champs Medal Ceremony was the perfect way to wind up the event, the overall mood of everyone present was very relaxed and we were all ready for one hell of a party. The highlight of the evening was the inspirational Gold medal presentation to Aussie Age Grouper Rodovan Leovic who won the the 80+ AG category, an amazing performance which received a standing ovation from the 6000 strong crowd. After swapping multiple items of gear with internationals in the unofficial 'used tri gear' swap meet, then enjoying a few quietly loud beers, it was evident the party was just about to get started... 

The rest of the night is a total daze....wow what a week this was, I will forever remember the great times and friendships that Gold Coast ITU Championships produced. 

Albie

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