Athletic Department: Like a fine wine, our October AD MOTM is getting better with age.
Mark Preston has recently returned from the World Triathlon Championships held in Wollongong as the world champion in his age group.
After finishing third in last year’s event, Mark altered his training and focused on the little things that were going to make great results happen.
Completing the first leg of the Aquabike, a tough but enjoyable 1.5km swim, Mark exited the water in 24 minutes 55 seconds, ensuring he was in first place of his age group and in the top 100 athletes competing overall.
The transition (which is Mark’s Achilles heel) once again proved a little costly as he dropped from 1st place down to 5th and had some work to do.
For those who know Mark, he embodies a young Lance Armstrong (pre the phase we don’t discuss). In the opening 1.1km stretch, Mark had elevated himself into second place. Over the next 5.3km, Mark retook the lead and went about establishing a lead that would be too great for others to catch.
With his splits getting lower and lower per checkpoint, Mark was not only creating a big lead within his age group, but was taking over competitors in the years younger than him.
Once the dust had settled, the results were in. Mark had placed 1st in his age group in a time of 1 hour and 37 minutes, declaring him Aquabike world champion for the year 2025.
A truly amazing achievement.
Congratulations, Mark, on your results and being our AD MOTM.
