Nutri-Grain ironman series: Newcastle’s Dan Collins makes cut despite loss to Ali Day
Newcastle ironman Dan Collins thought he was in top nick until he came up against this legend of the sport in the Nutri-Grain ironman trials.
Newcastle
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It only took Newcastle ironman Dan Collins a few hours of racing to realise he will need to lift his game ahead of the Nutri-Grain ironman series.
The 24-year-old is in great shape ahead of the 2020/21 season but after coming up against a legend of the sport in the weekend qualifying trials for the professional series, Collins has realised he needs to be better.
“Coming up against Ali (Day) was a bit of a shock to the system,’’ said the professional lifeguard and student who finished second to the former pro series winner and multiple Coolangatta Gold champion at the trials at Kingscliff on Sunday.
“He was very clinical. He didn’t make any errors. It was a good experience to have him here and see where we need to.
“I came here thinking I was in really good shape. It was a bit of a reality check but it has just made me hungrier.’’
Day, on the return from injury, dominated the qualifying racing to win the trials from Collins and Newport’s Zach Morris.
The top eight men from the trials have now qualified for the series which kicks off on December 19 and 20.
This year’s Nutri-Grain ironman and ironwoman series will return to live free-to-air TV for the first time since 20 while a new series designed to discover new talent will be held before each of the six rounds.
A prize pool of $100,000 will be up for grabs in both the women’s and men’s competitions, with two weekends of racing in NSW at Kingscliff and North Cronulla.
MALE QUALIFIERS: Alastair Day, Daniel Collins, Zach Morris, Cooper Williams, Ky
Kinsela, Hayden White, Joe Collins, Finn Askew.
DATES AND VENUES
Dec 19-20: Round 1-2, Kingscliff, NSW
Jan 16-17: Round 2-3, North Cronulla, NSW
February 13-14: Round 5-6 (FINAL). Kurrawa
TV: Live and free-to-air on Channel 9
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