Three podiums for Beauy

Christopher Coonan, Jim McClure and Zac Cunningham.
Christopher Coonan, Jim McClure and Zac Cunningham.

Beaudesert took home three podium finishes at the 2022 Queensland Aquathlon.

McAuley College students Jim McClure and Christopher Coonan placed second and third in the 16-17 age group with times of 46 minutes 21 seconds and 52 minutes 38 seconds, respectively.

It was McClure and Coonan’s first tilt at the sport of triathlon; however, both drew on their experiences in other sporting fields to rise to the challenge.

McClure has played representative cricket for south-east Queensland and is vice-captain of the Ipswich Hornets in the Lords Taverners competition.

Coonan has a black belt in karate and keeps active by going to the gym.

Their teacher, Zac Cunningham, also had a podium finish, placing third in the 35 to 40 age group with a time of 34 minutes 17 seconds.

All three athletes competed in the sprint distance, comprising a 750m swim in the Sunshine Coast’s Lake Kawana, followed by a 5km run.

The 22 October Queensland Aquathlon was a key event in the Triathlon Queensland State Series calendar.

It started off the 2022/23 racing season for Cunningham, who now heads to the Hervey Bay 100 (2km swim, 80km ride, 18km run) on 6 November.

Cunningham also has the Queensland Tri Series Round 5: Robina Olympic (1500m swim, 40km ride, 10km run) on 8 January, the Round 6: Caloundra sprint (750m swim, 20km ride, 5km run) on 5 February and the main event, Goondiwindi’s Hell of the West (2km swim, 80km ride, 20km run) on 26 March.

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About Susie Cunningham 554 Articles
Susie is an experienced journalist with a love of sharing local stories and being part of the community. She is one of the partners behind Scenic Rim Media - the company that owns Beaudesert Bulletin, Canungra Times and Tamborine Mountain News.