Haynes Crowned Champion in Style

The second and final round of the 2012 Legacy series took place at Portreath beach on Friday 31st August. The competitors took part in individual swim, ski and board races in which their finishing positions related to seconds handicap for the Ironman final. Despite competitor numbers being a bit low, there was some fantastic racing for the spectators to enjoy.
In the womens field, there was a three way battle going on at the front during the individual disciplines between Ellie Parker, Rhian Thomas and Mesha Wardman with each taking a win and backing up with other solid finishes. Behind these three, the under-16 trio of Summer Whiteley, Charlotte Hewitt and Anna Steele-Perkins were in hot pursuit and having their own private battle. The final was set to start with Parker holding a two second advantage over Wardman and Thomas a further second down. Hewitt and Whiteley would set off together, a further seven seconds back with Steele-Perkins snapping at their heels.
The final got underway at a frantic pace with each athlete having a target to pursue. The front three of Parker, Thomas and Wardman were again battling away with the lead changing over during some difficult transitions in the heavy shore break. As they headed into the final swim leg, Wardman and Thomas held a slender lead over Parker and behind them Hewitt, Whiteley and Steele-Perkins were eating up gap to the leaders. Nia Thomas was also having a strong race at this point until she was cruelly taken out by a ski whilst exiting the water and had to retire injured. Parker seemed to be struggling with the cool conditions and was fading whilst Wardman and Thomas were shoulder to shoulder, stroke for stroke. It was going to come down to the finish. Wardman managed to snag a small wave close to shore and ran up the beach for a deserved win followed by Thomas. The juniors, Whiteley and Hewitt had been charging hard throughout the whole day and came through to take fantastic third and fourth places respectively, with Parker hanging on for fifth from the fast finishing Steele Perkins.
In the mens field, the dominant force in round 1 at Croyde had been George Haynes, fresh back from a winters training down under. The question was, could anyone challenge him today? It soon became clear that it was going to be difficult. Haynes was dominant and won each of the Swim, Ski and Board races to set himself up with a nine second lead for the final. Behind him though the racing was fast and furious and and very tight. Under-18’s Matt Hewitt and Scooby Lark were very consistent as was senior Milky Byatt. There were also some strong individual leg performances from Thomas Onley (2nd place, swim) and Tom Parry (2nd place, board). It was great to see youngsters Keland Phinnemore and James Carpenter getting stuck in with the big boys as well.
As they lined up for the final it looked unlikely that Haynes would lose his nine second lead over Hewitt and Lark. Byatt was set to start a further two seconds back closely followed by Onley and the welsh trio of Parry, Craig Robinson and Ashley Lewis. Phinnemore and Carpenter were set to have their own private battle. Having previously suffered from the cold during non-wetsuit races, Haynes clearly wasn’t taking this for granted and set about increasing his lead. He worked hard during the craft legs and finished off with a strong swim to take the win and the series. Behind him though was where the real excitement was taking place. Byatt used his strong craft skills and experience to overhaul the two juniors infront of him during the first two legs and held a small advantage as he headed into the swim. The commentators announced that Hewitt would surely catch Byatt on the swim. But this provided the extra motivation that Byatt needed and he powered through his swim to take second place, with Hewitt third. Lewis had clearly saved something for the final and moved through strongly from starting 8th to take a fine fourth place with Lark fifth and the fast swimming Robinson in sixth. Onley, Parry and Carpenter rounded out the finishers.
Congratulations to series champions for 2012: Summer Whitely (Under-16 Ladies); Matt Hewitt (Under-18 Men); Ellie Parker and Mesha Wardman (Open Ladies); and George Haynes (Open Men).
A huge thank you goes to Chris Hewitt for organising the race and Nigel Bowden, SLSGB and the water safety crew for setting up and packing away the course and their support with the event. Also, many thanks to Andrea Hewitt and Rich Lark for their outstanding help on the day. We look forward to seeing you all, along with some new faces, for the 2013 Legacy series.