Ali Day crowns teenagers the next Shannon Eckstein, Zane Holmes in iron surf series Wanda
Ironman great Ali Day has dubbed two young guns the next ‘Shannon and Zane’ after an extraordinary opening round of the Shaw and Partners iron surf series at Wanda. Wrap, results.
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Ironman great Ali Day has dubbed two young guns the next ‘Shannon and Zane’ after an extraordinary opening round of the Shaw and Partners iron surf series at Wanda.
Day, who won races on both days of the opening round of the professional series in Sydney’s south, thanked the rising stars of the sport immediately for challenging so hard and keeping him on his toes.
The 10 time Coolangatta Gold champion then paid two of them — Ryley Harland and Ethan Callaghan - the ultimate compliment, liking them to two greats of surf life saving in Shannon Eckstein and Zane Holmes.
The 18-year-old pair have breathed new life into the surf series with their never-say-die attitude and performance over two gruelling days of racing.
While Day eventually outclassed the field on both days, he was impressed with the fight, heart and precocious talent shown by his teenage hunters.
“This is the first series for Ryley and Ethan and they gave it their all,’’ Day said.
“I look at Ryley and he reminds me so much of Shannon, I look at Ethans and he reminds me of Ky.
“Then there is Connor Maggs. He reminds me of Ky Hurst.’’
Eckstein, Holmes and Hurst dominated the now rebranded Nutri-Grain ironman series for years before Day took on the role as the sports leading man.
“These young guys, they put up a big challenge. To say I raced with them is an honour and a privilege,’’ Day said after his win on Sunday.
In their debut appearance in the series Callaghan finished round one in third place overall and Harland was fifth overall.
Day, who also dedicated his round one Wanda win to young Western Australian fan Ben who has just finished a bout of chemotherapy, said it is important to “pass the baton on’’ to younger athletes and the sports stars of the future.
But if his form on the weekend is any indication, Day, a 33-year-old father-of-two still has plenty of wins and triumphs left before he retires from the sport as he has hinted repeatedly will happen in 2025.
Day said after his Coolangatta Gold victory in October that it was “10 and done’’.
Harland is just 18, hails from the Northcliffe club on the Gold Coast, and made it into the ironman field for the 2024/25 series via the qualification event.
Callaghan, also 18 and from Burleigh Head Mowbray Park, also on the Gold Coast, won the Next Gen series last season to earn an automatic sport.
While the men’s racing showcased the young guns of the sport it was established stars of ironwoman racing who excelled on Sunday.
Like Day, Lana Rogers replicated her success from Saturday to win Sunday’s eliminator and take out the round from Lizzie Welborn and Tiarnee Massie in equal second place.
“The older girls, they know what to do and how to strategically do it,’’ Rogers said.
Rogers revealed she had been forced to grab a screw driver to make a quick fix to sort an issue on her paddle between the races.
“It was stay calm, calm, calm, stay calm,’’ she said of dealing with the mishap.
Racing over the weekend saw the bottom six athletes in the field cut from the series including young guns Lily Finati and Olivia Clues.
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Originally published as Ali Day crowns teenagers the next Shannon Eckstein, Zane Holmes in iron surf series Wanda
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