Bailie adds national duathlon title to Olympic top ten performance

NSWIS triathlete Ryan Bailie has continued his sharp 2016 form to win the Australian Duathlon Championship at the City of Armadale Duathlon at the Champion Lakes Regatta Centre in his home state of Western Australia.

Originally hailing from Western Australia, Bailie has spent the majority of his time over the past few years training in Wollongong, NSW, with the popular ‘Wollongong Wizards’ squad, guided by coach Jamie Turner.

Fellow NSWIS athlete and Rio Olympian Aaron Royle is also part of the squad, as are a handful of NSWIS supported triathletes including Charlotte McShane, Grace Musgrove, Jake Birtwhistle, Natalie van Coevorden and Tamsyn Moana-Veale.

Of the squad Bailie has arguably produced the greatest upturn in results over the past four years to become one of the most consistent triathletes in the world. After finishing ninth at the Olympics this year, the 26-year-old raced to sixth at the World Triathlon Series finale in the Mexican city of Cozumel.

After returning to Australia and his family in WA, Bailie decided on the eve of the City of Armadale Duathlon to enter the event that saw competitors complete a five-kilometre run, twenty kilometre cycle and secondary two and a half kilometre run. After claiming the title Bailie was enthusiastic about being back home in front of his fellow Western Australian’s.

“It was great to race back in Perth, it’s always special to race in front of a WA crowd,” said Bailie.

“It was an excellent course even with tough conditions. I confirmed that I could race yesterday so it was fantastic that the organisers were able to let me compete.”

It was equally exciting for event manager Lachlan Matthews who found it hard to hide his excitement at having the triathlon star join the fray at the event.

“It’s always a fantastic atmosphere at Champion Lakes when you know that the best athletes in the world are competing. To have our home-grown Olympian racing was just awesome” Matthews told Triathlon Australia.

“The world qualifying points were up for grabs and that makes the race even more exciting – everyone tries to find that extra ten per-cent left in the tank.”

In heavy winds, Bailie held out strong cyclist Matthew Burton for the win after the pair had come into the final transition zone together.