A near 80-year-old Port Stephens resident stole the limelight at the widely successful all-women's event and 'come and tri day' hosted by Tomaree Triathlon Club at its Salamander Bay base on December 6.
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Jean Hardacre, aged 79 years and 11 months, finished with a sprint across the line before checking her watch to check her finish time.
"She was thrilled to learn that she wasn't the last person across the line," said club president Dean Morrison.
But Jean's performance was just one of the many highlights of the day. With participants, spectators and even the weather all labelled by Morrison as 'fantastic'.
"We had so many volunteers put their hands up to help and heaps of sponsors who came on board including the Cheeky Dog which provided breakfast and champagne afterwards and the Hula Hut who provided $350 of vouchers at their shop," he said.
"We had 65 singles and seven teams finishing, in fact every participant finished which was a great achievement and a credit to all concerned."
Other highlights included a team of tutu and fairy wings, who smiled through the entire course.
"There were so many different types of bikes, one with labels of which gears to use, some with baskets," Morrison said.
"The spectators were awesome, and provided a positive vibe during the event and 100 per cent of the starters managed to finish.
"Then there was the incident which captured a lot of attention and showed the true meaning of the sport.
"One of the girls was quite nervous at the swim start, so two experienced girls from another wave (Janelle Wolski and Amy Ryan) volunteered to swim next to her. She finished the swim, Janelle and Amy ran back and started in their wave.
"This unselfish act, along with Jean's incredible dedication and the many other acts of heroism, made for a successful day."