Umina ironwoman Jemma Smith overtaken within sight of Coolangatta Gold finish line
After almost 42km of pain, Jemma Smith ran out of legs within sight of the finish line in a drama-packed Coolangatta Gold where a woman was dragged from the water. NSW ELITE RESULTS.
Central Coast
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For more than four hours and 27 minutes Jemma Smith was on course to win one of the toughest endurance race in Australia on debut.
But in the final 200m of the Coolangatta Gold the Umina surf life saver came unstuck.
“I just ran out of legs,’’ said Smith, overtaken by Queensland ironwoman Lana Rogers within sight of the line to finish, three seconds in arrears.
“I got so close but she got me right at the end.’’
Newport’s Max Brooks was the best placed NSW athlete in the elite men’s race won convincingly by Matt Bevilacqua from his good mate and former northern beaches gun Matt Poole.
Manly ironman Kendrick Louis finished 11th with Newport’s Lizzie Welborn 15th, Wanda’s Britney Pierce 16th and Newport’s Jackson Borg 17th.
Early in the day a woman in her 20s was pulled from the water and resuscitated after telling safety officials she felt unwell.
She was taken to hospital but has since reportedly made a full recovery.
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After her podium finish, Smith admitted she had been running scared for the entire last leg of the surf endurance test involving 41.8km of surf skiing, board paddling, swimming and running.
Despite the close call the 20-year-old was ecstatic with her result in her first ever attempt on the gruelling event.
“I’m thrilled. To come so close in my first ever Gold is better than I could have hoped,’’ said Smith who posted a time of 4hrs 27min 54 seconds.
“I was spent with 2km to go. I was just praying I had the legs but I didn’t.
“I really didn’t know what to expect and it was harder than I though. But I was surprised at how close it was.’’
Rogers claimed her first win in the endurance test, which for the first time doubled as the opening leg of the Nutri-Grain ironwoman and ironman series.
Gold Coaster and triple Coolangatta Gold champion Courtney Hancock finished third.
A second is a stunning result for Smith who has spent the surf life saving off-season honing her skills and testing the waters for a potential future Olympic campaign in kayaking.
“It’s a great start to the season for me for sure,’’ said Smith, who won a leg of the Nutri-Grain series two years ago while on a break from Higher School Certificate studies.
“I put in a hard off-season and I think doing such different things will help for this series,’’ she said.
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