Future of surf lifesaving: Revealing the next Shannon Eckstein

He wasn’t born when Shannon Eckstein competed in his first Aussies but meet the man who could now replace him.

MITCH Coombes wasn’t born when Shannon Eckstein competed in his first Aussies in 1997.

And the 19-year-old had only just joined Northcliffe when Eckstein claimed the 2003 national ironman crown – the first of his eight.

Now, almost two decades on, the two are training and racing alongside each other ahead of today’s start of the Australian Surf Lifesaving Championships on the Coast.

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“I started surf lifesaving in Nippers at Northcliffe and (Eckstein) been at the club ever since I started,” Coombes said. “He’s such a high- profile name and been someone I’ve always looked up to.”

After finishing 13th in the Nutri-Grain Ironman Series and winning last year’s under-19 ironman at the Aussies, Coombes is seen by many as the future of the sport and may be the man that Eckstein passes his baton to at the end of the season.

“He’s at the end of his ­career and I’m just starting mine so it wouldn’t be a bad role (as his heir apparent) to take,” he said.

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“He’s had a huge influence on the sport on the Gold Coast, throughout Australia and worldwide.

Mitch Coombes and Shannon Eckstein on the beach in Surfers Paradise. Picture: Tertius Pickard.

“Everyone knows the name Shannon Eckstein so it’s a great honour to be able to train alongside him.”

After competing at his first Aussies as a teen in 1997, Eckstein, now 35, can’t believe where the time’s gone.

“That’s pretty surreal,” Eckstein said when told that Coombes wasn’t born when he started his Aussies career.

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“Racing the guys now who weren’t born when I started is pretty cool and shows the longevity you can have when you’re dedicated to the sport.”

With retirement looming, Eckstein was happy to heap praise on Coombes ahead of Wednesday’s start of the open ironman competition.

“Mitch has definitely got the potential to be winning open ironman races,” he said.

“He’s the most talented junior coming through the ranks in Australia.

“He’s got every opportunity to be at the top for a long time, he just has to decide that he wants to work harder than everyone else.”

Mitch Coombes on the beach in Surfers Paradise. Picture: Tertius Pickard.

After not making the finals in last year’s Ocean 6 series, Coombes ended this year’s competition as an automatic qualifier as he continues to threaten the old guard.

“This year in round one, I made it into my first nutri-grain series,” he said.

“I didn’t really expect much but then I made it into the next two and I went from having to qualify to being an automatic qualifier.

“I finished 13th overall which was pretty special.”

Coombes, who recently co-captained Australia at the youth world lifesaving championships, is hoping to use his hot form to achieve both individual and team success as Northcliffe chases their 16th straight Aussies title.

“I won last season in the u19 ironman and I’m hoping to do it again this year,” he said.

“In saying that, there are so many other team events and I want to back it up for Northcliffe.

“I made the right decision to join Northcliffe.

“I had no idea about pathways when they won their first won but to see them go from a not very well known club to one of the best in the world is pretty incredible.”