Late rush expected for Sprint

Albany Triathlon Club’s major event will return to the Labour Day long weekend this Sunday but in a shorter format.

The inaugural Albany Sprint Triathlon will be held at Middleton beach this Sunday, replacing the Albany Classic, which was cancelled last year.

An Olympic-distance event, the Classic was once part of the State triathlon calendar and believed to be the longest-running Olympic-length event in WA before its cancellation was forced after being unable to obtain the necessary road closures.

Albany Triathlon Club president John Toomey was hopeful of a late rush of entrants for the new event comprising a 750m swim, 20km cycle and 5km.

He said the club was looking forward to having an event back on the calendar and believed the shorter event would be more appealing.

“Having full road closures and also the use of the swimming enclosure should make this event more attractive,” he said. “We used to get 200-300 entries but it had been gradually dropping away. We want to show we can run a well-run event.”

Toomey said the club had attracted sponsors and were prepared well logistically for the sprint to be built on in future years.

He encouraged teams to also enter.

“We will be taking entries right up until the morning,” he said.

“Our club events have improved a lot and have been regularly getting 30 plus competitors.”

The race begins at 7.30am.

To register or for more information, www.albanytriclub.com.au.