Aussies 2024: Strange lucky charm at Australian surf life saving titles, top photos, results
Some athletes have lucky undies, others socks, earrings or caps. These little surf life savers at the Australian youth titles have a bizarre charm they stick on their face. Day one news, results
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It’s one of the most bizarre lucky charms in sport - and that’s saying something.
While undies, caps, socks and even rocks and toy cars have proven a good omen for athletes over the years, this group of young surf lifesavers have taken things to the next level.
With coach and former top ironwoman Courtney Hancock watching on, a group of young surf life savers raced the opening day of the Australian surf life saving championships with big black moustaches on their faces.
The young guns from the Tallebudgera club on the Gold Coast contested one of their first events together with the moustaches for fun around three years ago and tasted great success.
Now they stick them on at all their major events - or in the case of the Aussies where they were washed off in the big surf - draw them on with waterproof markers.
“Sometimes we like Italian curly ones, sometimes we like a monobrow, sometimes we like really hairy ones,’’ said Nippers Lila Towill and Soraya Glore, both 12.
The tradition started for a bit of fun but now has an extra benefit, it relaxed the young athletes.
“We are alway laughing so it lightens the mood when we go to start races,’’ Lila said.
The nine-day Australian championships boasting in excess of 8000 athletes from around the country, kicked off with the youth competition on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday.
The youngest division of the championships is being contested by 1500 youngsters ranging in age from 12 to 15.
IRON, BOAT AND SWIM STARS OF THE FUTURE ON DISPLAY
There were big wins, sprint finishes and ferocious tussles in the under 15s finals on Saturday afternoon.
And one of the stars of the show was North Curl Curl’s Jack Stewart who won the ironman crown for his first Australian gold medal.
“It means everything to me, everything,’’ said the 15-year-old, who was the second member of his club in a row to take the iron win after Luke Higgs’ victory a year ago in Perth.
Stewart beat Charlie George from Cudgen Headland and Aaron McQuaid from Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park.
North Burleigh’s Ryne Spence won the U15s ironwoman title.
Spence beat Charli Barbour from Newport and Eve Cervenak from Kurrawa.
Burleigh’s Imogen Dowker added the Australian U15 swim title to her state crown with one of the most emphatic wins of the day.
“I wasn’t happy with my board so I put it all on the line in the swim,’’ said the 15-year-old from Varsity College.
Cudgen’s Phoenix Preston broke an Australian medal drought with his victory in the under 15 swim in a thrilling moment for the teen.
“The crew at Cudgen are really tight and everyone has really pushed me along,’’ he said.
“I’m a bit in shock. Normally I’m a board paddler but I didn't even make the final.’’
Preston beat Maddix Burke from Warilla Barrack Point and Owen Chaloner from
North Cottesloe
Sunshine Coast young gun Niamh Arthur has a former ironman great in her corner and it showed as she raced off with the under 15s board crown.
“It means a lot because I normally see myself as a swimmer,’’ she said.
“But Wes has helped me so much. he knows everything.’’
Arthur beat Ryne Spence from North Burleigh and Georgie McIntyre fromOcean Grove.
Northcliffe Kingston Lowe won the U15 board after a great sprint finish.
It was his first Australian crown and he described the feeling as “amazing’’.
Kingston beat Jack Patel from Maroochydore and Archie Harrison from Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park
Other top results on day one included local Tyler Johnson from Alexandra Headland beating
Harper Skelton from Burleigh Heads Mowbray Park and Darcy Stepanovski from Wollongong City to win the U13 ironman and Riley Macartney from Alexandra Headland also won the U14 ironman from Will Munro from Cooks Hill and Newport’s Thomas Shrivell.
Summer Murray from North Burleigh beat Dekota Sutton and Alex Olphant from
Alexandra Headland for the U13 ironwoman crown
Mary Thompson from Maroochydore win the U14 ironwoman from Jessica Conrad from
Another standout was Maroochydore’s Raphael Short who won the U13 surf race despite being the smallest athlete in the race.
Competitors have come from across the country to compete at Aussies 2024 but few have had to drive three days just to race.
That’s what Callum Van Delft and other members of his Point Leo club in Victoria have done to compete.
“We drove up here from Victoria, it took us three days - my mum, dad, sister and grandma,” Van Delft said.
“This is my first Aussies and it’s great. I really like the crowds, it’s a great atmosphere,” he said.
But travelling even further to compete are a multitude of teams from overseas, including 14 from New Zealand, seven from Japan and one each from Great Britain, South Africa, and France.
MORE TO COME AFTER DAY ONE FINALS
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Originally published as Aussies 2024: Strange lucky charm at Australian surf life saving titles, top photos, results
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