Ashleigh Gentle has continued her dominance of the women’s race at the Garmin Noosa Triathlon, winning an incredible ninth title in 10 years, while Charlie Quin claimed his first win in the men’s race, setting a new course record on the way to victory.
Gentle crossed the finish line on Noosa Parade in 1:57:26, just over a minute ahead of Amelia Watkinson, with Hannah Knighton third.
“I guess Noosa Tri’s been in the back of my mind all year, it’s always one that I really look forward to,” said Gentle. “I felt pretty calm and relaxed heading into the race but, you know, once you get on the start line, you know you have to really focus. Every race I come here always pans out really differently, different competitors each year coming in and with some really great strengths pushing me to the end, that’s for sure.”
Gentle came out of the water in fifth position, working her way through the field throughout the 40km ride, coming off the bike just behind Kiwi Watkinson. Gentle powered on from there, quickly closing the gap to Watkinson before going on to claim her ninth Noosa title.
“I had a pretty good swim, I felt like it was pretty fast. I just tried to stick with the group and I knew if I could stay on those feet it would set me up for a good start of the bike,” said Gentle. “On the bike I felt pretty uncomfortable, my legs were just so sore. I think I pushed less watts than I have through the year over twice the distance so I knew the legs were pretty fatigued to be honest, but it was still super enjoyable once I got off, I guess. I knew I just had to focus on the run. I had 10 kilometres ahead of me and I just tried to focus on that.
“I think I’m just appreciative of what I’ve already achieved here and once I get on the start line, even today, I had eight titles but that doesn’t mean the next one is just a given, right,” she said. “I have to earn it and I try and put that out of my mind to just focus on the race and I think that kind of helps keep me in a good headspace for each race.”
Charlie Quin turned his fourth position in Noosa last year into a win in 2022, finishing in 1:43:12, almost a minute clear of Jake Birtwhistle, with Josh Ferris a further 30 seconds behind in third.
“I’m overjoyed, it’s like a dream come true. I’ve been doing this race for years and I’ve been fourth and never on the podium, so to win is a bit of a shock but a great one,” said Quin. “I’m hoping it can kind of kickstart my career. I’m just starting in the long course racing, coming from short course, so I’m hoping, I’ve got three more races this season and I’m hoping I can just build on this for my career.”
Quin set a new course record on his way to victory, going more than a minute under Craig Walton’s 1997 time, with Birtwhistle also bettering Walton’s 25-year-old mark.
“The swim, the pace was on and I just kind of got on the front five and just tried to stay there,” said Quin. “Then on the bike the guys smashed it. We were all just hanging onto wheels for most of it and then down that hill it really split it up and I had to really work hard to get back up to the front. Once I was there it was just all about the run and I was just kind of running scared a bit, but I held on.
“The crowd really got me home the last two kilometres,” he said. “I had a few friends out there and my coach was near the turn around so he really spurred me on and that kind of got me over the line.”
The Garmin Noosa Triathlon is supported by the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland, and is a feature on the It’s Live! in Queensland events calendar.
For more information visit noosatri.com.au/
Top 10 Garmin Noosa Triathlon placings:
Elite Men’s Race:
Charlie Quin – 1:43:12
Jake Birtwhistle – 1:44:05
Josh Ferris – 1:44:37
Kurt McDonald – 1:47:07
Nicholas Free – 1:47:46
Luke Willian – 1:48:07
Yoann Colin – 1:48:36
Mitchell Cunningham – 1:48:58
Jack Moody – 1:49:19
Brad Course – 1:49:39
Elite Women’s Race:
Ashleigh Gentle – 1:57:26
Amelia Watkinson – 1:58:32
Hannah Knighton – 1:59:57
Charlotte McShane – 2:01:24
Jessica Ewart-McTigue – 2:02:09
Emma Hogan – 2:03:26
Felicity Sheedy-Ryan – 2:04:18
Matilda Offord – 2:06:32
Milan Agnew – 2:06:45
Brittany Dutton – 2:07:02
