Gus Marfell’s late scratching has changed the dynamic again ahead of this weekend’s Oceania Triathlon Super Sprint & Mixed Relay Championships on the Gold Coast.
The Blenheim 21-year-old had been selected in the NZL ‘A’ team for Sunday’s continental Mixed Relay, the culmination of two long days of short and sharp action at the Gold Coast Performance Centre.
But a back injury has forced Marfell out of the final event of the Oceania summer.
“Unfortunately I’ve had to make the decision to pull out of this weekend’s Oceania champs with an underlying back injury,” Marfell wrote on social media.
“Never the decision you want to make but unfortunately it’s the only option right now. I’ll be back.”
It means James Corbett is now guaranteed his ‘A’ debut alongside Saxon Morgan and two of Nicole van der Kaay, Ainsley Thorpe and Eva Goodisson presuming they all come through Saturday’s individual heats, repechages and semifinals unscathed.
🌏 Why it Matters
Continental glory. Precious World Triathlon ranking points. World Championship slots. Early LA ‘28 Olympic Games Mixed Relay moves.
Take your pick, mix and match even. There’s something for each and every one of the now 27 Kiwis set for two long days of short and sharp super sprint triathlon at the Gold Coast Performance Centre in Runaway Bay.
The Oceania Triathlon Super Sprint & Mixed Relay Championships signals the end of a disjointed summer Down Under where late venue shifts and even a cyclone has kept everyone on their toes. Now, before the region’s best head up into Europe, there’s one last chance to put your name up in lights.
For the Kiwis, three distinct narratives look set to play out…
Men – U23 battle within the battle
Saxon Morgan and Joel Lange aside, the remainder of the 16 Kiwi males at Runaway Bay are U23 with Finnley Oliver, Caleb Wagener and Coen Anderson younger still in the U19 category. That trio are all likely to compete in the Junior (U19) worlds at Wollongong in October but the makeup of NZL’s U23 contingent for the ‘Gong’ is still a pecking order work in progress.
James Corbett was 4th here last year and looks a shoo-in for Wollongong but the mouthwatering battle within the battles at Runaway Bay will be whom of Sam Parry and Robbie White steps up under the glare of the NZL selectors. Gus Marfell was 6th last year but sadly won’t get the chance to recapture the form that saw him second Kiwi home at World Cup Napier.
Dunedin’s Grayson Westgate, a surprise 4th in the U23 race at the Oceania Standard Distance Championships in Tasmania, is another to watch but finds himself in a tricky heat with Corbett and defending champion Jayden Schofield (AUS). Oliver and Anderson, along with Manawatu’s Alec Ball and Napier’s Reeve Dooney, kick things off in heat 1 alongside title favourite Callum McClusky (AUS).
With Henry McMecking, Benjamin Airey and Cameron Maunder not on the Gold Coast, Tauranga’s Oliver Larcombe is the only other Kiwi finalist from a year ago (he finished 15th) although comes in on the back of an extended period of illness.
Women – Four can’t go into two
Paris Olympians Nicole van der Kaay and Ainsley Thorpe have long been the incumbent Kiwi women’s No.1 and No.2 but there’s a long way to go to LA ’28 and Eva Goodisson and Brea Roderick are equally determined to get to Hollywood. That’ll add intrigue to every race herewith and Runaway Bay will be no exception, not with July’s World Triathlon Mixed Relay Championships in Hamburg looming. Performances at Runaway Bay, both individually and in the MR, will go a long way to determining who gets the two female spots for Germany.
Manawatu’s Hayley Cornwall and Aussie-based Sophie Webber will be others hoping for big weekends. They were the top Kiwis at the Oceanian U19 championships, but neither were within the 3% threshold of the winner to secure spots for October’s Wollongong worlds. This weekend isn’t an official qualifier, but data can be used to support an athletes case.
Mixed Relay – New Look
With Hayden Wilde and Tayler Reid prepping for WTCS Yokohama in a fortnight and Dylan McCullough’s season bow still on ice, New Zealand will field a new look lineup in this weekend’s Oceania Mixed Relay Championship on the Gold Coast.
James Corbett is a new name in a sextet set to be trimmed to four following heats, repechage and semifinal racing in the continental super sprint champs on Saturday, also at Runaway Bay. Saxon Morgan, Nicole van der Kaay, Ainsley Thorpe and Eva Goodisson are also in the running for Team NZL’s first post-Paris MR with the two highest ranked females (based on times) following the semifinals set to get the nod.
While it’s not in the qualification window for LA ’28, there are claims to be staked for July’s world MR champs in Hamburg and a new order (female, male, female, male) to tinker with. Performances in the individual racing will play a big role in the makeup of the final quartet for Sunday afternoon with the two to miss out rolling down to the NZ ‘B’ team.
With 28 athletes in Oz, Team NZL could have as many as six teams on the start-line Sunday.
***
🔧 How it works
Super Sprint
Swim: 250m (x 5 laps)
Bike: 7km (x 2 laps)
Run: 1.5km (3.5 laps)
Men
Saturday (All times are local)
4 x Heats (Top 5 in each to semifinals)
2 x Repechage (Top 6 in each to semifinal) 2:50pm and 3:10pm
2 x Semifinal (Top 8 in each to final) 4:10pm and 4:30pm
Sunday
Final (Top 16) – 11:15am
Start Lists
12:30pm – Qualifier A: Oliver, Dooney, Anderson, Ball
12:50pm – Qualifier B: Morgan, Larcombe, Parry, Wagener
1:10pm – Qualifier C: Lange, White, Kemp
1:30pm – Qualifier D: Corbett, Westgate, Taylor, Curteis
THE VENUE
The Gold Coast Performance Centre at Runaway Bay is perfectly suited to a super sprint with a 50m pool and 400m track and closed road cycle loop. Sadly, it looks as though Queensland’s famous autumn weather mightn’t play ball with showers forecast throughout Saturday and for the individual finals and Mixed Relay early Sunday.
Women
Saturday
3 x Heats (Top 8 in each to semifinals)
1 x Repechage (Top 8 to semifinals) – 3:30pm
2 x Semifinals (Top 8 in each to A final) – 4:50pm and 5:10pm
Sunday
Final (Top 16) 11:35am
Start Lists
1:50pm Qualifier A: Van der Kaay, Rae, Webber, Carter
2:10pm – Qualifier B: Goodisson, Roderick, McClure, Brown
2:30pm – Qualifier C: Thorpe, Cornwall, Evans, Chiles
Mixed Relay
2:15pm Sunday
Distances
Swim: 300m (x 6 laps)
Bike: 7km (x 2 laps)
Run: 1.5km (3.5 laps)
