Ocean Grove Surf Lifesaving Club’s Amenah McDonald and Melissa Fitzgerald won a silver medal at the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships.
The pair won in the 45-49 years women’s double ski event at the ‘Aussies’ in Scarborough, Perth, capping off a great event for local surf lifesavers.
Anglesea’s Naantali Marshall returned with four gold medals.
Marshall was unstoppable in the water at the ‘Aussies’, winning gold in four from four 45-49 years women’s water events – the ironwoman, board, surf and ski races.
Lorne’s Tristan Read claimed two gold medals, winning the 45-49 years men’s surf race and
2km ocean swim, while Daryl Hauenstein from Jan Juc won gold in the 65-69 years men’s 1km run.
Victoria’s oldest representative at the championships, 75-year-old Malcolm Freake from Fairhaven SLSC, continued his decades-long legacy at the Aussies, winning gold in the 1km
beach run and silver in both the beach sprint and flags events.
Also finding podium success was Samuel Hume of Anglesea winning silver in the 45-49 years men’s 2km run and Benjamin Lund of Jan Juc claimed bronze in the 35-39 years men’s 2km swim.
Geelong-Surf Coast masters who made Australia’s top 10 in their respective events were:
Michael Hegarty, Jan Juc SLSC – 40-44 years ironman men’s board race and ski race
Torquay SLSC – 150 years men’s Taplin relay and board relay (Grant Matthews, David Strahan, Simon Strahan)
Lorne SLSC ‘Lorne Again’ – 160 years women’s surf boat crew (Georgina Box, Tamara Brawn, Shea Grant, Geoffrey Matthews, Paula Matthews)
Ivor Morgan, Anglesea SLSC – 45-49 years men’s board race, ski race and ironman Ingilby Dickson, Anglesea SLSC – 65-69 years men’s surf race
Benjamin Lund, Jan Juc SLSC – 35-39 years ironman, board race and surf race
Samuel Hume, Anglesea SLSC – 45-49 years men’s surf race
Amenah McDonald, Ocean Grove SLSC – 45-49 years women’s board race
Daryl Hauenstein, Jan Juc SLSC – 65-69 years men’s beach flags
Nicole Matthews, Torquay SLSC – 50-54 years women’s board race