Young stars in gruelling Melbourne Ironman
JEWISH endurance athlete Adriel Young continued his rapid rise recently with an outstanding effort in the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships in Melbourne.
JEWISH endurance athlete Adriel Young continued his rapid rise recently with an outstanding effort in the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships in Melbourne.
Young finished the gruelling event in a stellar time of 8:38.34, placing him third in the 25 to 29-year-old age group and within the top 50 overall.
“I went in with such unknowing, [because] I’ve never done anything that long before,” Young told The AJN.
“[And] it was the most amazing feeling running down that last 100m, getting down to the finish line. It’s hard to describe.”
The Bondi lifesaver, who was formerly on the Ten Network show Bondi Rescue, got off to a flyer in the swim leg, but was hampered by inclement weather in the remaining legs.
“What happened was they changed the swim course because of the conditions,” Young said.
“They cut the swim down, which was unfortunate for me really, because I could have put a better gap on some of the guys in my age group.”
“I felt pretty good until about the 27km mark of the run, but it was pretty bad from then on. It was sort of grit your teeth and get through the last hour,” he said.
He will now prepare for the triathlon event at the Maccabiah Games in July, which he said will be a great challenge.
“I’m going to fly over to Europe a bit early … [because] there are a few races I’d like to do before Maccabiah,” Young said.
“I’ve had a look at some of the results from the previous Maccabiah and there are some good Israeli brothers over there that triathletes.”
Meanwhile, veteran racer Brian Rabinowitz also took part in the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championships, crossing the line in a time of 12:33.22 to finish second in the 65 to 69-year-old age category.
Ashley Shenker
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