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Down
to the wire
Narrow New Zealand victory in Perth Cup
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Swimmers
sprint down the beach in the first leg of Perth Cup biathlon
during STARDEX 2002. Royal Australian Navy team members
are pictured — AB Jack Daniels (far left), AB Adam
Turner (2nd from right) and LS Nigel Roberts (far right).
Photo by APBH Kaye Adams.
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The
RAN has again been beaten by New Zealand for the coveted Perth Cup,
but not before a spirited Australian effort.
The competition, held during the recent STARDEX exercise, once again
took place on the picturesque Malaysian island of Pulau Tioman.
The cup is awarded to the nation which scores the highest points
in a range of sports, including handball, volleyball, 7-a-side soccer,
one touch (a combination of touch football and gridiron) and the
biathlon.
Teams from Singapore and Malaysia also competed.
As always, the competition quickly boiled down to a neck and neck
race between the RAN and the RNZN, with the biathlon proving crucial
in deciding the outcome.
The biathlon consisted of a 300-metre ocean swim followed by a 2.4km
run. The teams were divided into swimmers and runners.
The Australian swimmers, LS Nigel Roberts (HMAS Geelong), AB Adam
Turner (HMAS Success) and AB Jack Daniels (HMAS Success) put in
an impressive performance.
AB Daniels had earlier admitted to not being quite as fit as he
used to be, but he stunned everyone by leading the pack out of the
water and onto the sand. AB Turner followed several places back.
The performance of the day must go to LS Roberts who battled a strong
undertow and exhaustion to finish in front of the Malaysian divers.
Then it was the runners’ turn. AB Josh Swanson (HMAS Success),
AB Roderick Stuart (HMAS Success) and LEUT Dan Ashbolt (HMAS Adelaide)
braved high humidity and an approaching thunderstorm in a final
dash to the finish line.
AB Stuart led for much of the way but was eventually overtaken by
the New Zealand runner, finishing in second place. An impromptu
Maori ‘haka’ helped the Kiwi across the line.
AB Swanson came in fifth with LEUT Ashbolt, who had started the
run near last, coming in sixth with the Malaysians bringing up the
rear.
So the cup returns to the land of the long white cloud, as Australia
prepares for another chance to rain on the New Zealander’s
parade next year.
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