Courtesy: event press release

Defending champion Craig Walton demolished a quality field at the 2003 Viridian Resort Noosa Triathlon today in front of a massive crowd equalling Miles Stewart's record of three wins while Emma Snowsill also smashed the womens field in her first major win in Australia.

At the end of the 1.5km swim Walton had already set himself up with nearly a minute lead after a tide assisted swim split of 15:50 over the current Australian Champion Courtney Atkinson, former world number one Chris Hill and New Zealand's Hamish Carter were next into transition, the main bunch trailed them.

The bike leg proved to be a winning one for Walton as he rode away from Atkinson, Hill, Reed and Carter extending the break to 2min by the halfway point. Walton was clocked on the downhill descent at 102kpm and recorded the fastest bike split - 55:08, he is arguably the most powerful cyclist in triathlon today.

Walton came flying back into the final changeover with nearly a four minute lead and victory now looking secure; however it was Paul Matthews from Murwillumbah who worked his way from the second group to follow Walton into transition. Matthews effort on the bike found him wanting on the run and finishing out of the top ten.

Despite what looked like an unbeatable lead Carter put in one of the fastest run splits of the day (31:00) to close the gap but Walton savoured his win strolling down the finish chute to claim his third Noosa title. Immediately after crossing the line he fell to the ground in exhaustion but managed to return to his feet assisted for a jog back down the finish to acknowledge the crowd who had been behind him all day.

Walton dispelled rumours that he was carrying a bad injury into the race, "It's no secret that I've had some niggling achilles injury and it may have been a contributing factor to not breaking my record but I wouldn't have raced if I didn't feel I was up to it."

Walton will now turn his attention to Athens and all energies will be towards getting to the start line and a podium finish. "I made some mistakes in Sydney (2000 Olympics) but I am hungrier than ever to get to Athens."

After failing to finish at the ITU World Cup event last weekend in Athens he claimed, "I pulled out in the run because I felt a little uncomfortable running but got a good look at the course and know that it suits me."

The script was identical in the women's event when Emma Snowsill led veteran Melanie Mitchell out of the water with Brisbane's Rina Hill who had a 42sec break over Pip Taylor, New Zealand's Megan Hall and Jennifer Erskine.

With race favourite Loretta Harrop withdrawing due to a virus Snowsill has definitely moved up to another level following her first international victor in Japan just two weeks ago.

Snowsill originally from a swimming had been working on her bike leg, "My bike has always been my weakness but I've worked really hard and it's now paying dividends."

Snowsill consolidated her early lead from the swim coming into T2 with comfortable lead. "I just went as hard as I could on the bike, which was my plan no where I came out," said Snowsill.

The improvement in her bike leg was also a telling factor in the run when she came out with fresher legs.

Former 1500m swimmer Nikki Egyed moved her way through the field to set herself up for a good run leg.

The petit Snowsill headed out to a thunderous reception for the final 10km. Hill a noted runner couldn't match the pace Snowsill set as she decimated the field winning by the biggest margin ever seen at Noosa.

Egyed, a member of the team that took out the World Teams Championships held on for third with youngster Mirinda Carfae finishing fourth.

A delighted Snowsill confirmed that she was quietly surprised at the victory but admitted there was still work to be done, which is a formidable warning to fellow competitors.

Thoughts of Athens had not been a reality for Snowsill so far, "Athens hasn't been a reality for me, I was more aiming at 2008 but I will have to re-think my goals now."

A massive field joined the elite today with nearly 4,500 people competing in this years' 2003 Viridian Resort Noosa Triathlon. The triathlon celebrated it's 21st Anniversary this year and is the second largest triathlon in the world and biggest multi sport festival in Australia.

The triathlon concludes a week of world class sport and entertainment with preparations already underway for 2004.

Male

                         Final       Swim       Bike       Run
1.    Craig Walton       1:44:50     15:50      55:08      33:52
2.    Hamish Carter      1:45:46     17:02      57:44      31:00
3.    Bryce Quirk        1:45:54     16:58      57:52      31:04
4.    Shane Reed         1:46:08     16:45      58:07      31:16
5.    Craig Alexander    1:46:27     17:01      57:50      31:36
 
Female


1.    Emma Snowsill      1:56:09     17:38      1:04:03    34:28
2.    Rina Hill          1:59:49     17:39      1:06:02    36:08
3.    Nikki Egyed        2:00:57     18:47      1:04:52    37:18
4.    Mirinda Carfrae    2:01:08     19:23      1:05:53    35:52
5.    Nicole Rudan       2:01:24     19:58      1:05:24    36:02