Jy Timperley took a six-month break from surf lifesaving earlier this year but now he’s back and ready to make his mark

There’s a saying in surf lifesaving that for every week you take off, it takes you two weeks to get back to the same fitness levels.

THERE’S a saying in surf lifesaving that for every week you take off, it takes you two weeks to get back to those same fitness levels.

Currumbin’s Jy Timperley has broken that mould.

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After making the round two Coolum Nutri-Grain series ironman final in late 2018 and finishing 15th, the 20-year-old decided to take an extended break from the sport.

Jy Timperley in action for Currumbin. Picture supplied.

“I guess I fell out of love with the sport,” Timperley said.

“I hated training and wasn’t really liking anything about the sport but that was nothing to do with the club or my coaches it was just how I felt.”

For six months, Timperley strayed from the sport he’d long wanted to succeed in, prioritising work, travel, camping and anything else that took his fancy.

“I did whatever I wanted to do really,” he said.

“I was still training and doing one or two sessions a week but nowhere near what I’d usually do.”

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The culmination of six months’ absence came mid-year when Timperley made the decision to throw everything at his sporting dream.

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“I got back from a surfing trip and just had eight or nine weeks where I got stuck into training,” he said.

“I started to like the sport again.

“I wasn’t taking it so seriously.

“The break did me a world of good.”

The Byron Bay product reaped the ultimate reward for his effort in early September when he became the fifth male to qualify for the 2019/20 Nutri-Grain series, securing the chance to compete against the sport’s elite all summer long.

Jy Timperley in action for Currumbin. Picture supplied.

“It was a feeling of relief,” Timperley said.

“You know you’re in for good and don’t have to qualify the day before.”

More than 10 months after he decided to step away from the sport, Timperley said he would now search for consistency this summer after earning a permanent spot in the series.

Like most, his summer begins this weekend as he prepares to take on the Coolangatta Gold just two years after winning the Under-19 male race in a time of four hours and 17 minutes.

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“Training is a lot harder than the race,” he said.

“It’s tough mentally but my plan is just to settle into a consistent pace and try and stick with the leading pack.”