Even with two events to go, Dennis and Jodie Martin are in a strong position to qualify for next September’s International Triathlon Union World Triathlon Grand Final on the Gold Coast.
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More than 5000 of the world’s elite and age group triathletes, representing 46 nations, will be competing at the Southport Broadwater Parklands site.
Dennis is currently fourth in his qualify age group (55 to 59) and Jodie is sixth in her qualify age group (45 to 49).
The pair have competed in two qualifying events this year and are planning to race in two more events in the 2018 – at Huskisson and Queensland.
The tournament was something Dennis knew was coming and something he and Jodie wanted to be apart of.
“I think I could see it coming. The big thing was the tournament was going to be in Australia this year,” he said.
“It’s very doable, without being expensive and going overseas.
“We knew the worlds were going to be in Queensland 2018 and we started planning it about six months out before the qualifiers begun.”
Both Dennis and Jodie are currently in positions where they would qualify for the championships, with the top 25 in their qualifying groups progressing to the championships.
“We’re both happy with where we are sitting,” he said.
“We probably need to go to one more race and to race well in Queensland to qualify.
“So that’s what the aim is right now. We’ll train through the New Year and we’ll go to Huskisson, on the South Coast, and one in Queensland and get a good result. We’ll see how we go.”
“Whenever [the championships] are in your home country, you get more qualify spots. The top 25 from each age group qualify.”
The duo will compete at the Queensland course, on the Gold Coast, on January 14, the same course that will eventually host the championships in September.
“It’ll give us a taste of the course before the main tournament,” Dennis said.
Both Dennis and Jodie had set out to qualify together and whatever happens, they will both be at the Gold Coast next September.
“We’ve already booked a holiday up there. We’re going up to the Gold Coast at that time, so hopefully one or both of us qualify. Otherwise we’ll be up there anyway and watch a few others we know go around,” Dennis said.
“Neither of us have ever done this before. We’ve done short events, a few Ironmans. So we are both looking forward to trying this.”
