Top Triathlete Poised To Consolidate
Sun Herald
Sunday February 11, 1990
SUPER triathlete Stephen Foster is seeking to cement his No 1 position in the Ampol Australian Triathlon Series with a win in today's fourth round at the Gold Coast.
Foster, from Melbourne, leads the field after three of the six Ampol races. the gritty triathlete, tipped as a pre-race favorite, has been dubbed the"comeback king" of the Australian circuit after injuries sustained in a car accident in 1988 kept him on the sidelines for a year.
The two-times Australian Triathlete Of The Year (1987 and 1988) started his comeback in October with a third placing in the first event at Noosa.
Race director Barry Hawkins said Foster would face stiff competition in today's race - the David Hawkins Memorial Triathlon at Elanora.
"We've got 650 competitors including every top triathlete from every State in Australia competing," he said. "There will be competitors from 14 different countries, so it's going to be a real battle to the finish line."
The race, involving a 1.5 kilometre swim, a 40km cycle and a 10km run, has attracted the first full Russian team to compete in Australia.
The four-man "Luch" (beam of light) team from Moscow arrived at the Gold Coast last week.
French champion Elisabeth Pancelet, Holland's No 2 triathlete Roelof Steringa, Canada's No 3 Neil Smith and Japan's No 3 Hideo Nakagome will also provide tough international competition.
Hawkins said he expected Queensland triathletes, whom he described as being among the best in Australia, to feature in the finish.
"Brad Beven, who finished second at the Commonwealth Games, and Troy Fidler, who was fourth, will be among the top finishers," he said.
"There's also Miles Stewart, and Eamon Nunn from Ipswich who was sixth in the juniors at the Games."
Beven, from Cairns, will be out to avenge his narrow second placing to New Zealand's Commonwealth Games champion Rick Wells, one of the favourites in today's field.
Brisbane champion Liz Hepple is leading the women's field in the series. A strong cyclist, she has a third placing in the elite Tour de France in 1988 to her credit.
© 1990 Sun Herald
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