TRIATHLON
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Wollongong triathlete Jake Birtwhistle has continued his push for a Rio Olympics berth with a fast-finishing second place at just his second ITU World Cup event in Mooloolaba on Saturday.
The 20-year-old stormed home in the final stages of the run leg to finish two seconds behind experienced Frenchman David Hauss with Spain's Vicente Hernandez in third place.
It follows consecutive victories at Devonport and Wollongong to claim Oceania Olympic and sprint distance titles.
"I'm pretty confident with my kick, coming from my track background," Birtwhistle said.
"I knew I would have that extra gear no matter how tired I was; I just had to keep fighting to hold off Tony Dodds and Hernandez.
"I thought coming through the Expo area [a tunnel 200m from the finish] I may have had a chance to come back up to David, I got close and I think I would have taken him by surprise if I'd have come past him.
"Hauss is a very experienced guy and an athlete I admire quite a lot and to finish within just a few seconds of him on the finish line is a great result.
"Obviously I would have liked to get the win but in the grand scheme of things I'm pretty happy."
The result means Birtwhistle will head to New Zealand for his World Triathlon Series debut next month high on confidence and keen to further show his wares over the Olympic distance.
"It's exciting moving onto Auckland, I cant wait," he said.
"It's going to be another step up again but at the end of the day it's just a triathlon. I'll go out and do what I train for and hopefully again I can come away with a good result."
Birtwhistle will represent Australia in Auckland alongside fellow Wollongong residents and Commonwealth Games reps Aaron Royle and Ryan Bailie.