The full field of Nutri-Grain IronMen and IronWomen is set for the 2020/21 series following the qualification round last weekend and the announcement of the wild card athletes today.
These athletes will make up the top 20 male and 20 female athletes competing for the ultimate glory of being crowned Nutri-Grain IronMan or IronWoman that begins in Kingscliff on December 19.
With the first round of the series kicking off in two weeks-time, defending IronWoman Champion Lana Rogers said that she is just excited to finally be back racing.
“I’m just so excited to be back doing some real racing as well as being live on Channel Nine,” Rogers said.
Having just switched Surf Life Saving Clubs to Alexandra Headlands SLSC, Rogers said that the team environment has been great and there is a real excitement in the air amongst the newly qualified athletes.
“I’m really loving the team environment – I caught up with a bunch of them yesterday and they’re all really excited to get to be able to race,” Rogers said of her Alexandra Headlands SLSC teammates.
“It’s great for the Sunshine Coast, we haven’t had this many athletes in the series for quite a while, so it’s great for the coast and for so many of them to be from Alexandra Headlands.”
Defending IronMan Champion Kendrick Louis said that while he’s feeling good ahead of the start of the series he may have to rely on his experience with some old and fresh new faces in the 2020/21 series.
“This year for me I’ve actually focused a lot on things away from sport like my wedding, which was a priority, and finished up just on 4 weeks ago. So I’m feeling a little underdone, so I’m going to have to really rely on my experience,” Louis said.
“It’s great to see so many fresh faces in the series and a lot of young guys coming through, it’s great to see the sport in good hands.
“It will also be good to have Ali (Day) back, he dominated at the Trial and will be right up there this year.”
Two female and two male athletes have been selected for the wild card positions for the 2020/21 Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series with the wild card selections based on a variety criteria and selected by a panel of experienced Surf Sport judges.
Sunshine Coast IronWomen Electra Outram (Noosa Heads) and Tiarnee Massie (Maroochydore) have been announced as the female wild card athletes and Wes Gould (Kurrawa) and Isaac Smith (Newport) as the IronMen wild cards.
These four athletes will join the 18 males and 18 females already confirmed for the 2019/20 Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series that have qualified through either their performance in the 2019/20 series or through the qualification event at Kingscliff on 28-29 November.
The 2020/21 Nutri-Grain IronMan and IronWoman Series kicks off in two weeks’ time with round one and two at Kingscliff, NSW from 19-20 December with all rounds of the series LIVE and FREE on Channel 9.
To view the full field of athletes for the 2020/21 Nutri-Grain IronMan or IronWoman – CLICK HERE.
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