Team South saved some of its best work for the penultimate day of the inaugural Libby Kosmala Para Futures Cup, winning badminton, rowing and swimming at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra.
The team, which brings together athletes from the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) and the Tasmanian Institute of Sport (TIS), struck first in badminton, finishing ahead of Team West, Team East and Team North.
From there, the action moved to the AIS Performance Gym. On the rowing ergometers, Team South narrowly edged Team West for the win, with Emma Barnett (TIS) collecting 100 points in the women’s 500m. The result left Team West lead Jed Altschwager PLY, a Paralympic rowing champion, to concede bragging rights in his own sport.
Team South finished second on the cycling ergometers, behind Team West. Two minutes is a long time on a bike that goes nowhere, and Mia Halliday (TIS) made every second count, averaging 366 watts to win the women’s two-minute time trial and another 100 points.
The rivalry was real, but so was the support. Athletes who had only met days earlier crowded around the ergometers, yelling encouragement no matter what colours they were wearing, as Paralympic champions Emily Petricola PLY, Altschwager and Nikki Ayers PLY watched on.
In the afternoon, Team South carried that form into the pool and won the swimming overall. Keira Warwick swept the 50m events, Amber Stelling won the 100m freestyle and Blake Tonkin swam a personal best.
The shooting range has also given the VIS athletes some memorable moments. Steve Obeid learned from Winter Paralympian Taryn Dickens PLY, while Cayden Bell was coached by Paralympic shooting great Libby Kosmala OAM PLY. Bell picked it up so quickly that he moved past the competition targets altogether and stepped up to 10m rifle targets.
Despite the wins, Team South heads into the final day fourth on 900 points, behind Team West (1202), Team North (1161) and Team East (982).
Athletics closes the program on Monday 5 October, before the inaugural trophy presentation.
