When you're used to swimming with Barracudas it's easier to fend off the sharks.
Covering eight lengths and 200 metres at 4 Seasons Pool was no problem for 11-year-old Erica McCallum, even in crowded surroundings, and she left it up to the rest of the Fire Breathing Dragons - Jacob Hoskins and Brenn Smith - to bring home the victory in the mixed team event in Sunday's Kids Fun Triathlon.
"It took me about five minutes and that's how long it took me to do it at the Barracudas (time trial)," said McCallum, who came out of the pool second in her age category.
Hoskins caught the lead rider to put his team ahead early in his ride and was unchallenged the rest of the way. Hoskins likes bike riding but wasn't used to racing for eight kilometres and he was tired by the time he tagged his runner Smith, who did two laps of Lheidli T'enneh Memorial Park (four kilometres) to finish the race.
"It was long, there were a couple of small hills, and a couple of smaller gradual hills," Jacobs said. "I usually just bike around the house."
Hoskins and McCallum, both 10, hatched the plan to enter the triathlon together. Hoskins completed the race solo last year, but the course was half as long then for him as a nine year old and he wasn't too keen on doing the longer distance bike and the run, so McCallum asked Smith, an avid runner, to join the team.
Smith ran with the older age groups and wasn't sure her team had won when she crossed the finish line, 36 minutes 46 seconds after they started.
"The first lap I passed like three or four people and the second lap was hard because I don't think I was breathing properly," said Smith. "There was one girl I had to pass on the last little hill and we were neck-and-neck and I just sprinted my fastest."
A total of 106 kids, ranging in age from 13 to three-year-old Maise Hoehn, took advantage of brilliant sunshine and warm conditions for the 22nd annual race.
Emma Watson won the nine-and-10-year-old female individual race, improving on her second-place finish last year. Watson swam 200 m, rode four km and ran two km in a time of 20:31.19 to edge second-place Heather Lamb.
"This year I really wanted to step up my game and get first and I tried really hard and it's great," said Watson. "This past month I've been running and swimming with my sister Meghan because she's in the Pisces swim club and I go mountain biking on a regular basis. She showed me how to swim properly and make proper turnovers when you get to the wall and to get into streamline.
"I think I was about third out of the pool and I got the lead when I was biking. I go mountain biking at Otway and I love biking."
Max Whitehouse, 12, also excelled on the bike leg on his way to winning the male 11-12--year-old individual race.
"The bike's my favourite event but I haven't done much mountain biking this year," Whitehouse said. "I just passed as many as I could. I'm in swim lessons and I've been swimming a long time but I think that's the event have to work most on. I really only do it in my lessons."
Whitehouse had never competed in a triathlon and was aiming for a podium finish but never expected to win. He finished in 38:16, comfortably ahead of second -place Jack Logan (41:36).
Other category winners Sunday were: eight-and-under girls: Danielle Bobbie, 23:37; eight-and-under boys: Colby Watson, 22:42; nine-10 boys: Matthew Rice, 18:27; 11-12 girls: Emma Brown, 37:52; 13-14 girls: Anja Nesset, 43:52, 13-14 boys: Samuel Stewart 42:59.
See page 12 for full results.
