Picture John Veage

Story Andrew Parkinson St George & Sutherland Shire Leader

More than 450 athletes took on the first race of this season’s Triathlon Series at Kurnell on Sunday.

The race marked the 25th anniversary of the popular series, the longest-running sprint series still going in Australia.

Cronulla’s Michael Fox, 27, celebrated his birthday in fine style, winning in a time of 59 minutes and 5 seconds.

He was first home ahead of Chatswood’s Chris Huang (1:00:50) and Caringbah’s Matthew Hood (1:01:15).

Cronulla Triathlon Club’s Rowena Moore was the first female across the line in 1:10:47, followed by Jane Cooper (1:11:15) and Jocie Evison (1:13:22).

More than 400 individuals took on the Kamay Botany Bay National Park course, as well as 18 three-member teams.

The winner of the first ever Kurnell Triathlon in 1991, Mick Maroney, performed admirably despite battling a virus.

Maroney, from Miranda, won his age group in 1:03:09.

Popular Wilf Deck, 80, won the over-75s category in 2:29:32.

Creator of the Kurnell Triathlon and founding Cronulla Triathlon Club member John Holt presented the top three males and females with their 25-year anniversary medals, together with the top-three winners in each male and female age group category.

Five-time triathlon world champion Craig Alexander will headline the next race in the series on January 17.

The Cronulla Triathlon Club member, who is also a three-time Ironman world champion and twice Ironman 70.3 world champion, will compete at Kurnell early next year.

Alexander achieved what no other man in the history of triathlon has been able to in 2011 when he won both the Half Ironman and Ironman world championships in the same year.

The 42-year-old set a world record in winning his third Hawaiian Ironman World Championship.