Father and daughter duo Keith and Brooke Tuynman are set to be challenged this Sunday, when they compete in the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship Western Sydney in Penrith.
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Held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, competitors will complete a 1.9 kilometre swim, a 90 kilometre bike ride and a 21.1 kilometre run.
As the father and daughter duo are competing as a team, Keith will take on the swimming and running legs while Brooke will attempt the cycling leg.
While Keith has frequently competed at the Cairns Ironman, he admits his preparation for Western Sydney has not been “as good as it should be”.
“We’ll see how it goes. It’s all about Brooke doing the race, trying to get her to do a nice, long bike ride in race conditions,” he said.
“It’s also good to do a father and daughter race, in a team. The team is called Dabrooke - dad and Brooke.”
“Not many parents get to race with their kids. I could do it myself, but it doesn't really bother me. I've got my Ironman in Cairns to do myself.”
He said finishing the Western Sydney Ironman in under five and a half hours would be a good time.
Brooke is focused on just finishing her cycling leg.
“It’s my first one and if it is a good one, I’ll be quite happy,” she said.
“The past week I’ve been sick, so if we could come good and have a solid race with no technical issues on the bike, that would give me my benchmark for road and track season.
“This will be my first Ironman. I think it’ll be the only triathlon I’ll do again.”
Weatherzone.com.au is forecasting a high temperature of 31 degrees for Penrith, but Keith is not fazed by the warm weather.
“People tell me that it can get a bit hot down there. It is Penrith,” he said.
“However Cairns is hot too, so it doesn't matter. We should be finished by lunch time.”
As the Ironman acts as a Asia-Pacific Championship, Tuynman said he’s expecting to see top triathletes competing.
“You can have a really gun team. A lot of people, like me and Brooke, mainly do it for a bit of fun, to achieve something,” he said.
Bathurst is expected to be well represented come Sunday, with the likes of Terry Roberts, Andrew Burke, Christopher Walsh and Tom Hanrahan to feature.
As well, Nick North, who won the Mudgee Interclub Triathlon on Sunday, is expected to compete.
Tuynman has tipped him to do well, saying “he’ll probably win his age group and finish in the top 20 overall”.
