Chris Hayes (Werriwa, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this morning to extend my congratulations to an exceptional group of athletes in my electorate who have achieved remarkable success. We Australians take great pride in our continual triumphs in our sporting endeavours and, as such, I feel it necessary to acknowledge the achievements of 12 local athletes in my electorate—members of the Macarthur Triathlon Club—who have been selected to represent Australia in the world championships.

The Triathlon World Championships is staged in a different country each year. This year, the three championship events will be hosted by Australia. There are Olympic and sprint distance events. To put this into some context, the Olympic distance consists of a 1.5-kilometre swim, a 40-kilometre bike ride and a 10-kilometre run; whilst the sprint event is half that distance, consisting of a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre bike ride and a five-kilometre run. These events will be held on the Gold Coast in September. The long-course event, which consists of a three-kilometre swim, an 80-kilometre bike ride and a 20-kilometre run, will be held in Perth in October.

Triathlon is a highly competitive sport. Competitors from all over the world are selected by their own countries to attend the world titles. Amongst the thousands who competed across Australia for this opportunity, the Macarthur Triathlon Club did exceptionally well, particularly in light of its being regarded as a very small club. A staggering 12 members will have the opportunity to represent their country in a couple of months time in these three events.

The Australian distance team consists of Julie Foster, Meegan Farrawell, Keira Pride, Rob Picken, Paul Rowher and Glenn Schwarzel. The Australian long-course distance teams consists of Julie Foster, Garry Robinson, Boey Alam and Steve Papas. The Australian sprint distance team consists of Kanen Picken, Cameron Weeks and Kurt Dreyer. In representing their country, they join the ranks of a fellow club member, Erin Densham, who represented Australia in the 2008 Olympics. I wish them all well in their endeavour.

Finally, I would like to pay particular regard to Glenn Schwarzel, who is the president of the Macarthur Triathlon Club, for his dedication and commitment to local sport. We all know that, despite having athletes and people eager to have a go out there, unless we have people who are prepared to put the time and administration in, week in and week out, to help young people develop we will not have local sport and we certainly will not have champions of the calibre that we have seen in the Macarthur Triathlon Club. (Time expired)