Warrnambool surf athletes bound for Aussie titles on Gold Coast

The 17-year-old is one of 25 Warrnambool competitors bound for the Australian Surf Life Saving Championships on the Gold Coast from April 2.

Johnston, who will compete in boards, ski, swimming and iron race, said he'd put in a strong body of work and was hopeful of a good showing.

"We've had a pretty big season of training but it's a pretty tough competition up there, so hopefully it goes well," he said.

"It's most mornings, either here or at the pool. A bit of gym work, running, and it's just about consistency and working hard.

"I think it's about trying to better yourself, training."

Johnston said he found the more events he took part in added to the fun of the experience. He said it was important to have an all-round fitness base.

"I guess with ski paddling and stuff, you want to be focusing on your core," he said.

"Whereas board and swimming can be an all-round fitness kind of thing. It's about switching the muscle groups and technique when you're doing your individual races and hopefully put it all together for an iron race."

Johnston said he'd had a busy season. "We've been lucky to race compared to previous years. We obviously had the state titles a month ago here and that all went well, we got a lot of medals out of that so hopefully we can back it up at the Aussies," he said. "It's probably been one of my best seasons so far. We won the under 19 board relay at states, that's me, Will McNeil and Isaac Owen.

MORE SPORT:

"That was a big paddle from us boys there and the opens also won the board relay as well as Steve Kerr and Mia Cook who always grab a lot of medals."

Jane McMeel, who will also travel to Queensland to compete in board events, said she was relishing the chance to compete up north.

"It's been starting to get a bit darker, windier and a bit more miserable down here so it's been a bit of a challenge to stay motivated," she said. "You've just got to remember what it's going to be like up there, sunny and hopefully warmer. We need to give credit to ourselves for training down here and when we get up there we appreciate the weather we can race in."

Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club director of surf sports John Cook said more than 7000 competitors would compete on the Gold Coast.

"The "Aussies" is recognised as the largest event of its kind in the world with Australians also recognised as the best in this sport," he said.

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard: