Next week’s when it really counts.
That was the happy but not content message from the leading Kiwis in Sunday’s Oceania Triathlon Cup Gold Coast after Saxon Morgan and Eva Goodisson finished 4th in the respective men’s and women’s races at Broadwater.
Both were using the sprint as a hit out to next weekend’s Oceania Super Sprint Championships (a level up from ‘Cup’ racing) at nearby Runaway Bay. The two-day Gold Coast eliminator serves as the final trial as Team NZL eye critical Mixed Relays to open the LA 28 Olympic Games qualification window, at WTCS Quiberon (June 21-22) and WTCS Hamburg (12-13) – the latter doubling as the World Triathlon MR Championships.
“Not great, not horrible,” was Goodisson’s evaluation after finishing in 59:56, six seconds off a podium filled by Aussies Sophie Malowiecki (59:10), Zoe Clarke (59:33) and Briana Mow (59:50).
Phoebe Carter (1:00:42) and Brea Roderick (1:00:48) were the next best of the Kiwis in 9th and 10th respectively, Carter once again edging Roderick as she did at in the super sprint tri trial turned aquathlon at Tri NZ’s recent High Performance Forum in Mt Maunganui.
“It was really hard, not going to lie,” Goodisson continued, admitting the chaotic short burst to the first swim buoy left her scrambling in what is normally one of her strongest legs.
“Didn’t feel my best today, but this was just [as] I trained through this race, the big one’s next week, so had a pretty big training week last week and then came off the trials back in New Zealand the week before,” the 27-year-old said.
“So it’s been a pretty hefty build-up into this one. I guess I was expecting to not feel super sharp today, which it did definitely feel like that.
“I’m also looking forward to a bit of a taper week next week too to hopefully freshen up. I’m looking forward to giving it a good hit out with it being one of the key races for sort of Kiwi mixed relay selection too.”
Morgan trending nicely as Runaway Bay looms
Morgan claimed the bronze medal in one of his best continental results at last year’s Oceania Super Sprint Championships and is trending nicely for next weekend after a series of promising early season results.
Like Goodisson, Morgan also entered Sunday off the back of a heavy training block.
The 25-year-old Cantabrian (52:30) eventually finished eight seconds off the podium as Brayden Mercer (52:07) led another Aussie medal sweep ahead of the Schofield twins, Jayden (52:21) and Luke (52:22), who added another legendary sprint for brotherly bragging rights to the family album.
Ninth-placed Robbie White (53:07) was the only other Kiwi in the top 10 with Gus Marfell (53:43), comeback kid Finnley Oliver (53:47) and Sydney-based Joel Lange (54:02) battling for places 14 through 16 respectively.
“Yeah, it was all right,” Morgan said of his performance.
“I came over here for a bit of a hit-out, kind of training through this one a little bit leading into next weekend and into some World Cups and WTSs in the middle of the year. So, this part of the year is really important getting some load… to come out here and test my body under a bit of load and fatigue is, yeah, it’s pretty cool.”
The swim, as is often the case at continental level, was a matter of survival early on. Morgan recovered but then paid for a slow transition off the bike.
“Yeah, pretty physical swim. The first boy was about 90 metres offshore, so got a bit beat up, but along with everyone else, you know, long back straight, kind of moved my way towards the front.
“Good group on the bike and maybe about 10 to 15 of us rolling really, really well. Really bad T2 for me, left me chasing the run the whole way. Went out real hard to try to bridge the gap, did, and then, yeah, suffered towards the end, just had burnt all my matches too early on.”
Morgan can’t wait for Runaway Bay where Tokyo Olympian Tayler Reid will make his 2026 bow after recovering from a rib injury.
“It’ll be great to race Tayler again. I mean, it’s been a long time since we’ve raced each other. I’m sure he’s fit and ready and, yeah, he’ll really hand it to me,” Morgan said.
“Really just looking forward to spending a week over here on the [Gold] Coast recovering, training, enjoying the climate…beats Christchurch back at home. And yeah, next weekend’s quite important for us.
“It’s part of our selection criteria for some of the WTS events, the Mixed Team Relay events later in the year. So hopefully come out and test myself and show myself over that shorter distance and, yeah, put my name in the ring for those mixed relays.”
Full Oceania Cup Gold Coast Men’s and Women’s
