Pluimers Back in Black

It never seemed likely after her dissapointing race at Portsea in Round 2, but Pluimers is back in the black togs after claiming victory in Round 4 of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series in Perth on the weekend. After Courtney bombed out in Newcastle, Kristyl took over the leaders jersey but was unable to consolidate the lead in Round 4 being the marathon format with an 11th place. Courtney Hancock bounced back from her dissapointing result in Newcastle to be back on the podium with a 3rd placing. Kirsty Holmes continued with her recent form to claim another 5th placing, with the always consistent Harriet Brown in 7th. 

In the Men's race, Caine Eckstein was always the red hot favourite for the marathon format and claimed a convinsing 2nd victory of the series. Shannon Eckstein was very happy with his result placing 3rd in his least favourite format and Cory Hill had his first top 10 finish with an 8th place. Shannon now sits in 3rd place overall in the series still in contention.

For a full list of the women's results click here.

For a full list of the men's results click here.

Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series - Rnd 3

Kristyl Smith & Zane Holmes made it a BMD Northliffe double for Round 3 of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Series in Newcastle. Big seas, strong winds and even marine life made for some exciting racing. Kristyl, who hadn't been off the podium so far in the series, climbed to the top for the first time ahead of Elizabeth Pluimers. Kristyl also claimed the overall series lead after Courtney Hancock lost her ski and finished 19th in the first race relegating her back to 3rd place on the leader board behind Kristyl and Elizabeth. Veteran, Kirsty Holmes, demonstrated her experience finishing in 5th, her best result so far for the series with Harriet Brown in 7th. 

In the men's race, Zane Holmes was the lone BMD Northcliffe representative in the final with Shannon Eckstein just missing out with a 9th place after being knocked of his ski several times. Zane went on to claim his first victory of the season and move further up the leader board in the overall series. 

Close examination of the television footage revealed a pilot whale rounding the cans in the final girls race. With a shark attack at nearby Redhead Beach just days before, people were quick to speculate that it was a shark.

Round 4 heads to Western Australia on the 29th January where they'll take on the Marathon format.

For the full women's results from Round 3 click here.

For the full men's results from Round 3 click here.

Courtney Overcomes Portsea Carnage to Claim Second Win

While Portsea didn't live up to its usual reputation for huge seas, it certainly threw up enough to cause some carnage in Round 2 of the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Ironwoman Series on the weekend.

Race 1 of the double sprint race ran smoothly with Courtney taking it out ahead of clubmates Liz Pluimers and Bonnie Hancock.

Race 2 saw Liz Pluimers take a commanding early lead with a strong first board leg only to be pegged back at the conclusion of the board leg when several competitors pulled down a large wave behind her. Leading in to the final ski leg BMD Northcliffe were looking good with Liz, Courtney and Kristyl Smith in the top 3 until a nasty collision in the shore break saw all 3 lose their craft and relinquish their lead. Kristyl and Courtney managed to catch back up to 3rd & 4th place respectively but for Liz Pluimers, who fared the worse from the earlier collision,  her Portsea curse from last season continued, ending up in 20th.

This dissapointing finish added with her 2nd place in race 1 meant that she ended up in 11th place for the round. Courtney's 1st & 4th gave her the overall Round win to make it two from two in the series and Kristyl Smith finished with another 3rd place. Other BMD Northcliffe athletes to finsh in the top 10 were Bonnie Hancock in 6th and Harriet Brown in 8th.   Courtney now has a comfortable lead in the overall standings with 50 points followed by Kristyl in 2nd with 40 points and Liz Pluimers in 3rd with 32 points.

In the mens race, Shannon Eckstein showed he was re-gaining form, claiming a win in the 3rd and final mens race. A 4th and a 5th placing in the earlier races meant that he was back on the podium for Round 2 with a 2nd placing behind Kurrawa's Ky Hurst. The mens overall pointscore still remains tight with only 5 points seperating the top 6 competitors. Shannon sits in 4th place, 3 points off the lead.

Round 3 heads to Newcastle on the 22 January for the eliminator format. 

Click here for Round 2 - Male Results

Click here for Round 2 - Female Results

Click here for overall Male Standings after Round 2

Click here for overall Female Standings after Round 2

Click here to visit the Surf Ironman Series website

Click here to check out the carnage from the womens race