Defending champions Ali Day and Lana Rogers have reigned supreme on the penultimate day of racing for the 2025 Shaw and Partners Iron Series.
With only the top 12 qualifying through to tomorrow’s do or die final, Day and Rogers proved experience counts when it mattered, winning today’s racing in sensational style.
While the duo will take a confidence boost heading into Sunday’s final, they won’t be resting easy, with the next generation of Ironmen and Ironwomen edging out some of the big names, as the bottom four athletes were farewelled following today’s race.
After four specialist heats, the final Ironman was a handicap pointscore, with athletes running out at two second intervals. For 34 year old Day, he started in 10th place, running out 18 seconds behind the first competitor.
But true to form, Day’s composure and knowledge saw him chase down the front pack with exact precision. In the second swim leg he went from seventh to second heading into the final ski leg, and from there kept pace with 18 year old Ryley Harland, hitting the beach just ahead and storming home in the run to cross in first place.
“It was like one of those ones where obviously a lot of hard work went into it, but there is a bit of luck too and I knew there was a win up for grabs.
“You could argue that it doesn’t mean anything, but it does, because it’s my legacy and race wins count… that one means something to me.
“It’s scary how good they are [the young kids]. And hopefully, one day they’ll realise that being 34 [as he is] is not the easiest thing, but you do carry a lot of experience. Those young kids like Riley [Harland]… I can’t wait to sit here in a couple years and just watch. I’m leaving the sport in good hands.
For young gun Harland, only his second year in the Iron Series, he couldn’t quite believe he managed to keep up with “the GOAT”, Ali Day, happily settling for second place and finishing ahead of Day’s training Finn Askew who rounded out the podium.
In the Ironwoman, Rogers dominated throughout the whole day, consistently finishing in the top seven that put her in first place in the handicap Ironwoman final.
While she faced a tough challenge from the likes of round two winner Electra Outram and young gun Lucy Derbyshire, Rogers was flawless in her Ironwoman final to take a strong win.
“You know, I wanted to just go into that format like the final, and I wanted to kind of make a statement. I didn’t want to leave anything out there, I just wanted to give it my all and hopefully I got something left in the tank for tomorrow.
“It is really tricky conditions today, really choppy out there. It’s tough but you know what, we love it.
“I’m very open minded heading into tomorrow and I’m not trying to put too much pressure on it whatsoever,” said Rogers.
Tomorrow’s final will see the top 12 in the Ironman and Ironwoman line up, with three races to be contested. The final race will see the winner crowned the 2025 Shaw and Partners Iron Series Champion.
The Final of the Shaw and Partners Iron Series will be held on Sunday 2 February at North Burleigh beach from 12-2pm AEST, shown live on SBS and SBS On Demand.
Click here to read the full results from Round 3.