And
defending women's champion Nicole Hackett, continued
her consistently solid form to edge out rival and
friend, Loretta Harrop, in a climatic finish to the
women's race that gives the youngster back-to-back
victories in the Aussie Championships title race.
McCormack,
hungry to clinch the national title following three
previous runner-up results, used his superior bike
skills to break away from the 20-plus bike pack in
the 40km bike leg.
One
of the most exciting competitors in the sport, McCormack
used the anniversary of his mother's death, two years
ago, as extra motivation.
That
motivation and a sensational race were enough to secure
his first national title and to qualify him for the
Australian World Championship Team for 2001.
"Today
is the two year anniversary of my Mum's funeral. I
was thinking about her on the run when I knew I had
it, and I know she'd have been so proud of me,"
said an elated McCormack following the race.
With
four places for the Australian 2001 ITU World Championships
Team on offer the racing down the field was fast and
hard.
Chris
Hill finished second to claim a team spot and to also
cement his Australian Triathlete of the Year title.
Meanwhile
a hungry Sydney based Craig Alexander backed up his
championship claim, made in winning the Banana Coast
race one week ago, and enjoyed a breakthrough performance
to finish in third place.
Veteran
Queensland athlete, Miles Stewart overcame illness
to clinch fourth place, and secure his 13th consecutive
Australian team membership.
Earlier,
talented swimmers, Hackett and Harrop used their experience
and incredible understanding of each other's racing
to build a lead in the 1500 metre swim, then work
together to extend their advantage over the 40 kilometre
bike leg.
With
more than a four minute advantage heading in to the
run leg, the pair ran shoulder-to-shoulder for the
entire 10kms before Hackett finally out-kicked Harrop
to claim a 12 second win and back-to-back national
championships.
"Loretta
and I know each other so well now we don't even talk
about what we're going to do before the race, we just
know. I'm extremely happy to have won here today.
I'm very happy with my form and the way things are
going," said Hackett
Once
again racing for New Zealand, Queensland-based Rina
Hill recorded the fastest run-split to finish third.
Complete
Results
