A former Bacchus Marsh athlete is fasting becoming a rising star of the ironman world, claiming the Sunshine Coast Ironman competition for his 18-24-year-old age group.

Kurtis Sniegowski finished first the 70.3 Ironman last month – completing the circuit in an impressive 4-hours, 16-minutes and 41-seconds.

The 23-year-old finished 21st overall and was the 18th male across the line.

“I felt like all the hard work had paid off and this race has given me the confidence in knowing I’m heading in the right direction,” the former Bacchus Marsh Grammar student said.

Kurtis completed the swim in 25-minutes 55-seconds – arguably his strongest section on the day.

The cycling route took 2-hours- 19-minites and 32-seconds – and the run: 1-hour 26-minutes 58-seconds.

Now based in Brisbane, Kurtis competed in his first triathlon at the tender age of 10 – and his first half-Ironman in 2016.

“I was very fortunate to have guidance from my dad and at the same time from my coach – Sam Stewart – at Bacchus Marsh,” he said.

“Sam really helped me in my progression as a junior athlete.

“I got drawn into the sport because my dad used to compete in Ironman competitions when I was growing up.

“We were allowed to run across the finish line with him – and this motivated me to want to get into the sport from a young age.”

Kurtis also competed in the 70.3 Port Macquarie Ironman in May, finishing 88th out of 1034 people and in a time of 4-hours, 54-minutes and 9 seconds.

He stopped the clock even quicker at Geelong in February, with a time of 4-hours, 30-minutes and 32-seconds.

The 23-year-old returns to Geelong for his next Ironman in 2021, provided the Victorian-Queensland border is open by February.

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Main image: Kurtis in the Sunshine Coast Ironman. Photo supplied

Gabrielle Hodson
Author: Gabrielle Hodson

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