The NSW lineup is locked and loaded ahead of a refreshed Iron Series in 2025, with 10 athletes across the male and female fields ready to compete in Round 1 & 2 at Wanda in December.
With a larger field of 56 spots in total up for grabs ahead of the inaugural Shaw and Partners Iron Series, 30 names – including six from NSW – came out of the qualifiers at Tugun on 16-17 November and will join the 13 pre-qualified athletes on the starting line in just under a month’s time.
Conner Maggs (Newport SLSC) qualified first in the male field on Sunday, joining clubmate, Jackson Borg as well as Dan Collins (Redhead SLSC) and Kendrick Louis (Manly LSC) in the men’s draw, while an incredibly impressive showing from Newport’s female athletes saw Piper Harrison, Olivia Clues, Jemma Smith, Pipi Te Pania and Analise Kibble earn their spots alongside Lizzie Welborn, who finished sixth last year.
While Pipi and Olivia will be making their professional debuts in the series, 2024 Coolangatta Gold champion, Jemma Smith, Analise Kibble, and Piper Harrison will return – the latter two after debuting for the first time last season.
“It’s such a relief,” admitted Piper after the event.
“I feel like this weekend is so stressful because you just want to be in that Series so badly, especially with the change in format. I know it’s going to be amazing.
“Being in the Series is such a massive learning curve, and I definitely learnt so much and grew as an athlete and a person last year. Coming into this year gives me a bit more confidence knowing that I can race at that level.”
The 2024/25 Shaw and Partners Iron Series will be run over three weekends across the summer – twice in NSW and once across the border in Queensland.
Round 1 | Wanda | 14-15 December 2024
Round 2 | Newcastle | 11-12 January 2025
Round 3 | North Burleigh | 1 February 2025
Round 4 | North Burleigh | 2 February 2025
Monday 18 November 2024
