Nutri-Grain iron surf series: iron woman Lily Finati to make debut, Georgie Miller out with heart scare

This teen ironwoman was so worried catching Covid would spoil her debut in the Nutri-Grain series at Bondi she even told her mum to keep her distance in the lead-up to Friday’s racing.

Amanda Lulham

@amandalulham

6 min read

January 13, 2022 - 12:24PM

NewsLocal

Lizzie Welborn and Lily Finati are two NSW athletes in the Nutri-Grain ironwoman series which kicks off in Sydney on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

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She’s a rising star of surf life saving who has been stressing more about Covid than her rivals in the lead-up to her debut in the Nutri-Grain ironwoman series at her home beach on Friday.

Lily Finati, 18, said Covid has touched her family, friends and mates in surf life saving in recent weeks and she has been terrified it would derail her own debut in the professional surf iron series which kicks off at North Bondi with three days of racing.

The teenager said she knows around 30 people who have had it or are recovering from it with her grandparents and brother among the casualties this month.

DANCING IRONWOMAN TO REPLACE MILLER

Young ironwoman Lily Finati from North Bondi.

“I was sitting alone in the back of the tent last week with my mask;’’ Finati said of her endeavours to keep the virus at bay during a lead-up event at Bondi last weekend.

“I’ve even told mum to move away when we are having a chat. I’m one of the only ones in my friends group away from surf not to have it.

“I have been panicking all week because I really want to race and everyone has been dropping like flies.’’

Finati, the youngest in the 20-strong women’s field which lost former series champion Georgia Miller, to a heart issue this week following a bout of flu and Covid, said she has been working hard to be prepared for the three days of racing ahead both in and out of the water.

“It’s going to be an ‘ah’ moment, standing next to these girls who have been my idols on the line,’’ she said.

“I won’t freak out. I have good preparation and Scott (Thompson, coach) has talked me through the different racing and races. I’ve been doing skills based stuff, working on my start, my weakness, having a bit of debrief after last weekend and trying to make sure I know the formats.

“I’m hoping I can fly under the radar a bit with the athletes.’’

The North Bondi surf life saver Finati cracked her first series via a qualifying event pre-Christmas and has not been seen by many of her rivals from outside NSW.

She and fellow NSW athletes Lizzie Welborn, Naomi Scott, Maddy Spencer, Britney Pierce and late call-up Bella Williams are outnumbered by Queenslanders in the series with their rivals from up north lead by defending champion Lana Rogers.

Georgia Miller was one of the favourites before being forced to pull out sick. Pic: HarvPix

ROUNDS 1-3 NUTRI-GRAIN IRONMAN & IRONWOMAN SERIES

Location: North Bondi SLSC

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Round 1: 12-2pm Enduro Surf format

Round 2: 11-2pm WaveCross format

Round 3: 12-2pm Survival (format)

TV: Channel 9GO from 12-2pm AEDT on Friday and Sunday. 11-2pm Saturday.

IRONWOMAN GEORGIA MILLER’S BROKEN HEART: ‘IT WAS PRETTY SCARY’

After a nasty bout of Covid, this ironwoman was ready to put her best foot forward in the Nutri-Grain iron series. Now she’s been told not to race by a medical expert after a heart scare.

Georgia Miller thought the tightness in her chest and difficulty she had breathing after racing at a North Bondi carnival on the weekend was from a recent bout of Covid which left her sick and isolated for nine days, not training enough and losing fitness.

Now, after a barrage of tests in hospital and a consult with a cardiologist, Miller has been sidelined from the opening three rounds of the Nutri-Grain surf iron series which kicks off at North Bondi from Friday with heart issues.

“It was pretty scary,’’ said Miller, who was sent to hospital by her local GP when she presented with tightness in her chest after racing a Summer of Surf event in Sydney on the weekend.

Courtney Hancock with runner-up Danielle McKenzie, left, and third placed Georgia Miller, right.

Miller, from Sydney's northern beaches but who lives and trains on the Gold Coast, was on the mend from a nasty case of Covid-19 which saw her sick and forced to isolate for nine days earlier this month.

“I had Covid and thought I’d recovered enough to race on Saturday. But as the day went on I has tightness in my chest and I was struggling to breathe. I just put it down to racing hard, the Covid and not training. But I went downhill on Sunday,’’ she said.

“I booked in to see the doctor Monday and she did an EKG and there were a couple of anomalies and she sent me to hospital for more checks.

“I was there for seven hours waiting and seeing doctors and doing tests. I had a chest X-ray, ultrasound, another EKG, the whole works.

Georgia Miller is one of the top ironwoman in the country. Pic: HarvPix

“They said it was pericarditis which is an inflammation surrounding my heart.

“He strongly advised me not to race. It’s broken my heart but my health is the main thing.

“It was scary. You never want to hear something is wrong with your heart.

“They said it is from a viral infection. I had the flu a couple of months ago and then Covid and racing … it was all too much for the heart.’’

Miller contracted Covid on Christmas Day at a family gathering on the northern beaches.

“I was pretty bad. I had the body aches, headaches and hot and cold fevers and still have a lingering cough,’’ she said.

“I wasn’t expecting it to be as bad as that. I was double vaxed.

“We still tested positive after day seven so were isolated for nine days.”

The 25-year-old was one of the favourites heading into the 2022 Nutri-Grain iron series which kicks off with three rounds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at North Bondi.

Miller said on Tuesday she is expected to make a full recovery if she gives her heart a rest.

Queensland defending champion Lana Rogers and Sydney’s Lizzie Welborn are the pre-event favourites for the ironwoman title this season.

Aly Bull has secured entry into the upcoming Nutri-Grain ironwoman Series.

OLYMPIAN IN IRONWOMAN SERIES TO CHILL OUT

Kayaker Aly Bull has high hopes the 2024 Olympics in Paris will be her most memorable but there’s one thing for certain – her road to the Games will certainly be one of the strangest.

Wanting to give herself a time out from paddling to refresh mentally and physically, Bull has swapped kayaking for ironwoman racing for the summer and now found herself in the professional surf series.

On Friday, far from the Penrith regatta centre where she normally races, Bull will be on the start line of the Nutri-Grain series at North Bondi for the opening rounds of the 2022 series.

It may seem odd to some but it’s full-time firefighter’s way of chilling out.

IR0NMAN ALI DAY ON A ROLL

Alyce Wood and Aly Bull before the Tokyo Olympics: Pic: JGRImages

“I’m doing the series and a few iron races after to unwind before I get back in the Olympic cycle,” Bull said.

“I don’t sit still very well. This is a great way to fulfil my energy requirements.

“I always wanted to do some iron races while I had the time to do some other things. It’s always been a goal to get back and see if I still have it.

I’m just exited to be involved.”

Bull last completed on the iron series as an 18-year-old and just prior to joining the Australian paddling program.

Now 26, she has competed at two Olympics including Tokyo where she and Alyce Wood finished fifth in the K2 500m final.

With Wood now retired, Bull is hunting for a new partner ahead of the Paris Olympics where, if she is selected, she will be one of the oldest members of the team.

“I love crew boats and I’d love to be involved in the development of the K4, to get a really good crew on the line in Paris,’’ she said.

“We have a whole new group coming through and it will be fresh faced. Being one of the most senior will be different for me.’’

Bull is one of 20 ironwomen who will toe the line on Friday in the first of three rounds at North Bondi which run from 12-2pm daily.

Lizzie Welborn is one of the top ironwomen from NSW.

NUTRI-GRAIN IRON FORMATS FOR NORTH BONDI ROUNDS 1-3

ROUND ONE: Friday’s racing will involve the Endurosurf format – a 40-minute iron race over an M-Shaped or traditional course. Each of the disciplines of swim, board, ski will be completed twice with competitors taking on the surf break again and again.

ROUND TWO: Saturday’s racing will be the new Wave Cross format. These sprint races will be six to eight minutes long and are designed to create extremely fast pace, tight finishing racing. Dependent on conditions, WaveCross racing could involve racing around single turning cans rather than the normal two.

An initial seeding race in a 12-minute traditional iron will determine groupings in four quarter-finals.

ROUND THREE: Sunday’s Survival format comprises three separate, 12-minute long iron races starting with 20 competitors. The last six finishers in each race are eliminated to leave eight racing in the final.

There is a five minute countdown between each race. Race 1 – Swim, Board, Ski. Race 2 – Board, Ski, Swim. Race 3 – Ski, Swim, Board.