By Kent Gray/Triathlon.kiwi in Townsville
More than half a million Kiwis call Australia home and happily so. Just don’t be fooled into thinking the warm weather somehow thaws generations of trans-Tasman sporting rivalry and suddenly turns the new citizens all gooey for green and gold.
Ross Dougall, a Brisbane-based Aucklander working in sports tech, is an exemplar of someone who loves living in the Lucky Country but most definitely still bleeds black.
The 47-year-old exhibited that in spades at the Cross Triathlon on the third day of the World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Townsville on Tuesday.
Dougall mightn’t have been one of the 13 New Zealanders celebrating medal success but it was hard to find a prouder Kiwi anywhere in the sea of satisfied age groupers enthusiastically debriefing their races at Pallarenda Park afterwards.
And why not? The Channel Manager for Polar (of wearable sports technology fame) fought his way from 16th out of choppy Rowes Bay swim (“the roughest swim I’ve ever had”) to a thoroughly creditable 6th in the 45-49 age group. Not too shabby for someone who only took up the sport “four and a bit years” ago.
Indeed, Dougall finds himself an unwitting poster boy in Tri NZ’s push to get more offshore Kiwis to consider earning the fern for future World Championships. The 2025 Multisport worlds in Pontevedra anyone, or perhaps even more invitingly the World Triathlon Age Group Championships in Wollongong next October?
Dougall double dares you to go for it.
“I spent all of last year qualifying [in Australia], knew I wanted to try and get the silver fern on, represent the country and the family, and I was really proud to put in the paperwork for New Zealand and get through into the team,” Dougall said.
And what was it like to finally race wreathed in the silver fern?
“To be honest, it’s a dream come true, mate.”
Dougall had wife Charlie and mum Nola cheering him on as he mountain biked and trail ran his way into the top 10. It was a special moment and cool too how they were also swept up in the family atmosphere of triathlon afterwards.
“The off -road community is extremely welcoming. Lots of great people, really awesome,” Dougall said.
“It’s a really great achievement to get through the finish line and have a silver fern on and you know, just anyone who puts their toe on the start line can be super proud of being able to get there.”
The health and wellbeing benefits of the sport, especially when triathlon goes bush, fuels Dougall’s passion and the call to arms for not only future world championships, but just getting out there and giving it a go at grassroots level.
“Oh, absolutely. It’s a real adventure off road triathlon and it’s really good for your body to be exercising on different surfaces. Mostly, it’s just a heck of a lot of fun.
“The swim today was bloody lumpy. All week it’s been flat as a pancake and then the wind picked up this morning and it was super choppy, you couldn’t even see the buoys when you were headed out or navigating around.
“It’s an extremely honest course, so you have to work harder the further you go around. Really, really limited passing but everyone was really good. If you come up to riders and you say, look, I’m coming through, everyone was really, really good. You just had to muscle the bike the whole way around, but not blow yourself up, but really burn some matches when you can to get past people.
“And then, yeah, it’s a really hard run [including] down the sand [Pallarenda Beach] a couple of times but managed the effort really well and just saw some Kiwis at the end of the sand straight and pushed as hard as I could to mum and the wife, which is pretty awesome.”
You’ve also reeled in more than a few Aussies too, mate. Mean as.
“Yeah, we’ve came here and beaten some people I’ve never beaten before today, so I couldn’t have gone any better.”
