Maniototo 9-year-old Oscar Jeffries was motivated when he stood on the start line of the WeetBix Kiwi Kids TRYathlon — motivated to beat his twin brother, that is.
And finish ahead of Jimmy, he did — as well as all of the other children in their age group — coming first while Jimmy came in second.
Oscar attributed his win to several weeks of training before yesterday’s event, held at Taieri College in Mosgiel.
The pair were just two of 971 children taking part in this year’s TRYathlon.
Along with parents and supporters, several thousand people gathered at the school to watch participants aged 6 to 15 finish a 50m to 150m swim at the college pool, a 4km to 8km cycle around the streets near the school and a 1.5km run around the school field.
Sanitarium brand ambassador David Kay said the event, which had been going for more than 30 years, was now a "well-oiled machine".
They had even made contingencies for torrential rain, which thankfully subsided just before things got under way yesterday.
"The spirit of the TRYathlon is about giving it a go. That’s really what gives it its impetus, along with the community spirit and the community vibe that comes with it: generally there’s a 50-50 split between boys and girls."
This year, Anna Grimaldi (para-athletics) and Xavier Tito Harris (rugby) attended and handed out medals at the finish line to all those who participated.
