Race Coverage

Koala Cuddling....

Wednesday, 05 November 2025 00:10

By Katie Deregnier

Wollongong Australia Age Group World Championships Olympic Distance race report! - 

Swim: Awesome! Best ocean swim I’ve ever done. It was clear, I was used to the water, and the waves didn’t bother me. I felt confident the whole way

Bike: I dropped my water bottle right away and had to go back to get it- these moments make me wish it was an Ironman so that amount of time wouldn’t matter as much.The course was 3 loops with several U-turns, which made it quite congested! I felt like I was in a draft legal cycling race for a lot of it and the technical turns were not in my favor either- I know I can improve here. It was super fun, though- for some reason the 3 loops made it feel really exciting!

Run: I’ll take it- it felt ok, but of course the 35-39 wave didn’t start until 930 so we were running in some heat. I also have to keep in mind I didn’t start doing speed workouts until July due to hip stuff, so with another year of training I know there’s more room for improvement here too!

I was 8th in my age group- happy to make top 10. I felt like I gave it my all today, but I also know I have more in me, and that’s the what keeps me coming back. Grateful to be here, grateful to have my family here, and grateful for this whole experience. It’s truly amazing

The day afer the race I got to cuddle next to a koala, which I’ve wanted to do my whole life so it just can’t get much better than this.