Chloe Bateup impresses in Oceania Triathlon Championships

New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS) scholarship athlete Chloe Bateup continued with her impressive return to competition by finishing fourth in the recent Oceania championships held in the Western Australian city of Busselton.

Coach Liam O’Neill said he was impressed by both the 19-year-old’s effort in the championships and her continued progress after she returned to competition after being sidelined for eight months.

“It was a fantastic race by Chloe, a step in the right direction,” enthused O’Neill. “She is returning from having a few years frustrated by injury before joining the [NSWIS] program.

“She had limited racing in the last couple of years, but since joining the NSWIS program Chloe has competed in three races in a short amount of time. It has been tremendous to see.

Bateup established herself as star in the making in 2020 when she defied torrential rain and a strong field to become the youngest female – at just 16 – to win the tradition-steeped Nepean Triathlon staged at the Sydney International Regatta Centre.

Another highlight was her winning the Junior Oceania Triathlon Sprint Cup race in Devenport in 2022 to secure Bateup automatic selection on the Australian team for the 2022 Junior World Triathlon Championships.

O’Neill said what pleased him most about Bateup’s performance in Western Australia was seeing how much she enjoyed being in the thick of the action.

“The big thing was seeing her back, fit, healthy and enjoying racing again,” he said. “That’s what we all do sport for – to enjoy it.

“Last year Chloe raced less than a handful of times for the whole season – and she had to contend with months without any racing and limited training. Any athlete will tell you that is not enjoyable.

“But, to see her racing again – and it was in three back-to-back races in a short amount of time – where 30 women started the first race; the second race was reduced to 20, and the final field consisted of the last 10 women left standing.

“She competed against senior girls who boast impressive records, and Chloe matched them. She lost only 18 seconds over the 20 minute race, and in the grand scheme of things it was a wonderful performance by her.”

O’Neill also pointed out the efforts of the Schofield twins – Luke and Jayden – to respectively finish fifth and sixth in the men’s race was as equally pleasing.

“The Schofield twins performed solidly, and that’s what we expect of them,” said O’Neill. “At 24 they are stepping out of the under 23s, so for them to finish fifth and sixth at an Oceania Cup was good because our goal is to turn them into international athletes.

“It was a good race for them, and they backed their efforts up later in the evening when they competed in a five kilometre race and finished second and third.

“All in all, it was quite a good day for them.”

Daniel Lane, NSWIS