Home > News

Performances of the Year: Melbourne Magic

Jeff Symonds stunned a stellar field to take the Ironman Asia-Pacific Championship in Melbourne in March, guaranteeing himself a Kona spot and earning a “performance of the year” nod from us here at Triathlon Magazine Canada.

To celebrate the amazing year Canadian triathletes have enjoyed around the world, we’re handing out some “Performance of the Year” awards throughout the month of December. Feel free to drop us a line with any of your nominations.

As he started the marathon in Melbourne, Jeff Symonds appeared to be battling for a top finish, maybe even a shot at the podium. He, along with Australians Brad Kahlefeldt and Tim Berkel, trailed Nils Frommhold and Luke Bell by 11 minutes as they started the point-to-point run. With two experienced Ironman champs ahead, the win seemed unlikely. With former ITU star Kahlefeldt running alongside him, making his marathon debut, it seemed more likely that Symonds had his work cut out to just get fourth.

The marathon became a battle of attrition, though, and the world got its first glimpse of something all of us here in Canada were all too aware of – Symonds is the real deal. His 2:44 marathon in the heat that felled so many others proved that his third place finish at the 2011 Ironman 70.3 World Championship was no fluke, but rather a harbinger of great results still to come.

A class act: Jeff Symonds was all smiles after the race, despite having to ride 30 km with just one leg after his crank came off. He finished 23rd.
A class act: Jeff Symonds was all smiles after the Ironman World Championship, despite having to ride 30 km with just one leg after his crank came off. He finished 23rd.

The Penticton native grew up watching Ironman Canada in his home town. He pointed that out in his post-race interview in Melbourne:

“Congratulations to Tim Berkel who is a legend and pushed me to the limit which is why I am wrecked,” Symonds said after the race. “For all the youngsters watching, I grew up in an Ironman town and I watched and dreamed. So I challenge all youngsters watching here to dream big. Anyone can do this. You just need to go hard.”

Which is exactly what he did in Melbourne and again seven months later in Hawaii. At the Ironman World Championship Symonds lost one of his cranks and had to pedal his bike with one leg for the last 30 km of the bike ride. Despite that he ran a blistering 2:50 marathon to finish 23rd.

While that could easily be considered one of our performances of the year, we’ll stick with that amazing race in Melbourne. Congrats, Jeff.