Australian Open XC Perisher
Published Sun 07 Aug 2016
Words and photos by Steve Cuff
A mixture of consistency, a splash of surprises and excellent weather resulted in a great weekend for the Australian Open Cross Country Championships at Perisher.
Saturdays classic sprint races were action packed with some close finishes in the qualifying, but when the Australian championships were on offer Katerina Paul and Mark Pollock both showed a clean pair of heels to eventually win easily.
In the women’s sprint event Katerina Paul was too fast for 2nd placed Ajani Stella, with Ella Jackson in 3rd and Lily Boland in 4th place. Paul looked very comfortable all day and in the final lead from the outset before drawing well clear for an easy victory.
The men’s final started out as a close affair with Jackson Bursill getting an early lead before both Phillip Bellingham and Mark Pollock passed him on the first uphill section. Pollock soon pounced and when they turned the last corner for the finish the result was never in doubt, with Pollock powering to the line for a comfortable win. Bellingham placed 2nd, Marcus Wirstad from Norway 3rd and Jackson Bursill 4th.
At Saturday’s presentation Bursill was presented with the 3rd place medal for the Australian title, but in a generous touch handed the medal to the Norwegian Wirstad, who had placed third overall.
Kosciuszko National Park Regional Manager Mick Pettit was on hand to present the medals and also to view firsthand how the cross country trails are used on a busy Perisher weekend.
For Sunday’s Freestyle event there were a few surprises, with junior Lily Boland taking out the women’s title and former Australian Olympian Ben Sim winning the men’s race.
The women produced some close racing before Lily Boland produced a milestone winning her first Australian Open title while still a junior in the 5km freestyle event.
Katerina Paul capped of a great weekend by placing 2nd to add to her victory on Saturday while Aimee Watson joined the podium in 3rd place and Ella Jackson in 4th.
In the men’s race, former national team member Ben Sim turned back the clock to win the 10km event from Mark Pollock, with Nick Montgomery 3rd and Phillip Bellingham producing another great effort with an injury to place 4th. Sim, who is married to skier X racer Sami Kennedy-Sim has not competed seriously for a number of years but has spent the winter in the mountains and kept his fitness up to produce the win.
Mark Pollock and Nick Montgomery both also qualified to compete in next year’s world championships in Finland in February.
During the weekend the Evelyna Helmer art exhibition was also opened by Mick Pettit. The exhibition in The Stables at Perisher has paintings for sale with a vast percentage going to the Helmer XC scholarship to help athletes. Helmer has displayed some exceptional work, including a painting of Ben Sim among others.
The upcoming Sundeck Cup this weekend will also be a fundraiser as will a cocktail party in Melbourne in October. Funds from these two events will go towards assisting athletes compete in international events. The Sundeck Cup is part of the overall Perisher Cross Country week which continues until Sunday 14th.