CAMPBELL Gray, 16, won the 2017 Horsham Triathlon after a fierce battle with his father Steven on Saturday.
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Campbell finished the course in one hour and 56 seconds.
Race organiser Mark Pumpa said the race was a great day out with the weather almost perfect.
“It was funny because we thought that Stevie Gray would have won the course, seeing Jack Kelly couldn’t return to defend his title,” he said.
“But it was great. His son Campbell got the better of him.”
It was Campbell’s first try at the Horsham long-course event after competing in the short course race in previous years.
“Campbell is racing really well at the moment,” Pumpa said.
“He was the first out of the water, but when he got on the bike, Stevie caught up to him and passed him.
“Campbell held on though and when they reached the running section he was off and beat his father by one minute and 32 seconds.
“It was a really good race to watch.”
Campbell has been competing in the 2016-17 Melbourne Gatorade Series. His most recent performance before Saturday was at Elwood on February 5.
The Gatorade triathlon series involves a 750-metre swim, a 20-kilometre bike ride and a five-kilometre run.
Campbell placed 26th in a time of one hour, four minutes and 53 seconds.
The Horsham short-course winner was Jerome Williams, who finished in 30 minutes and 55 seconds.
The female short-course winner was Ella Walsgott, who finished in 33 minutes and 55 seconds.
Pumpa said officials were worried at one stage when a light shower hit the road.
“The bikes have quite thin tyres, so I thought they may have an accident, but there wasn’t any, which was also good,” he said.
In the junior triathlon and biathlon there were no winners awarded, instead, all of the participants received a participation medallion and a McDonald’s voucher.
“We try to keep it as even as possible,” Pumpa said.
Pumpa did not have an exact count on the number of participants, but said there were more elite athletes in a strong field of contenders.
“It was a very good hustle for everyone,” he said.
“You could tell there were more elite athletes competing because when you looked at the bikes at the river-bike transition there were some very good bikes on display.”
Pumpa said the event would not have been able to go ahead without the support of volunteers.
“They are the key for us to conduct this triathlon,” he said.
“It was good to see everyone got something out of it.”