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Raby Bay is set to play host to a full house at Race 6 of the Gatorade Queensland Triathlon Series this Sunday.  This will mark the last race before the Series Grand Final which will take place on the Gold Coast, Luke Harrop Memorial, on April 22, 2012.

Emma Jackson will once again tackle the super sprint distance format (400m swim, 15km cycle, 4km run) at Raby Bay, as she embarks on her path to secure a place in the Australian team at the London Games in August. 20-year old Jackson finished the 2011 season as our highest ranked female, finishing fourth in the World Series.

Jackson took a step closer to her Olympic dream with a convincing win over the unique ‘battle of the sexes’ format in the tough short Caloundra Enduro triathlon at Race 5 of the series, earlier this month.

“I am hoping to attack each of the three disciplines from start to finish which will make it a short but very fast and tough race,” Jackson said.

The Australian triathlete is on track with her training and will be using this weekend’s race as part of her preparation for her upcoming races which include 2012 Devonport OTU Triathlon Oceania Championships in March and the ITU World Championship race in Sydney.

“My training has been going very well in my lead up to try and qualify for the Australian Olympic team.

“I am looking forward to racing this weekend at Raby Bay to have a bit of a hit out and to see how things are going before my first major race in Devonport (OTU Triathlon Oceania Championships) in 2 weeks time,” she added.

Also in the women’s field Brisbane’s Sarah Deuble and Sunshine Coaster Chloe Turner who will push Jackson over the short format and be looking to snare podium finishes on the day.

Deuble was first to cross the line, in the open field at Race 5 of the Gatorade Queensland Tri Series at Caloundra showing her future potential.

Turner finished fourth to Jackson in the Enduro format at Race 5, proving she is one of our rising junior talents and while not in the class of Jackson will provide some competition over this short course.

The men’s field will showcase some of Australia’s biggest your talents coming through with recently crowned Australian Sprint Champion Drew Box, Daisy Hill’s Bryce McMaster and Southport based Gunnedah born Jack Hickey.

Box was the first Australian across the line at the National Sprint Distance Championships in Geelong earlier this month, and was crowned Australian Sprint Champion. Box is an under-23 competitor and it was the best result of his five-year triathlon career under the guidance of coach, Stephen Moss.

He will be using Raby Bay as a final hit out before he competes at the 2012 Devonport ITU Triathlon Oceania Championships next month.

“I have started off the 2012 season well with a 3rd in the Enduro Triathlon which prepared me well for the Australian Sprint Distance Championships the week later where I was crowned with my first Elite title as the Australian Sprint Distance Champion.

“This was a great achievement for me as I was up against some very tough competition with the likes of Olympian Courtney Atkinson and multiple Ironman World Champion Chirs McCormack racing just to name a few,” said Box.

It is no secret that Olympic hopeful Emma Jackson and Australian Champion Drew Box are an ideal couple.
“Emma has been training great within the squad and is well prepared to have a good hit out leading into her next races which are important for Olympic selection,” Box said.

The pair are very encouraging of each other and have nothing but positive things to say about each other.
“Drew has had some great results in his races this year and I am sure he will continue the trend into this weekend’s Raby Bay race.

“He definitely has the speed to attack the super sprint format at Raby Bay as he was just crowned the Australian Elite Sprint Distance Champion,” girlfriend Jackson said.

Brisbane’s Josh Maeder and Sunshine Coast’s Luke Farrell will also be among the young guns keen to kick-start their season with wins. 

Sunshine Coast athletes Annelise Jefferies and Michael Hooper will also prove tough competition on course as they go hard to hold onto their lead in the current 2011/2012 series.|

The Gatorade Queensland Triathlon Series is not all about the Open competitor’s, the series caters for all levels of entrants and offers two distances for competitors aged 13 to 80+ and one for kids.

With categories like Mates Wave, Clydesdales, The Kool Kids, teams and the Fire & Rescue Recruiting Enticer distance for newcomers it is little wonder this sport has taken off, giving everyone a chance to experience the thrill of this swim, bike and run phenomenon.