A trio of Warrnambool Surf Life Saving Club members played key roles in a Victorian team retaining a coveted international sporting prize.
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Stephen Kerr, Mia Cook and Ellie Johnson helped Life Saving Victoria defeat a team of Californian lifeguards in the Wieland Shield at Ocean Grove and Anglesea beaches on January 26 and 27.
The Wieland Shield is a biennial education exchange and series of aquatic sport competitions between the two countries.
It previously had not been held since 2018 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Warrnambool contingent all enjoyed success, with most events contested in teams.
Cook took out the ironwoman and individual ski events and finished second in the board.
She then joined forces with Kerr to finish runner-up in the mixed board relay while Johnson placed third in the individual ski.
All three athletes then helped their side win the mixed taplin relay - a discipline consisting of two board paddlers, two swimmers and two ski paddlers.
Kerr, a star veteran of LSV competitions, said "it was a real credit" to Warrnambool for its strong representation.
He said the experience was beneficial.
"It's a real highlight for me personally, I probably hadn't done a state team for a while but part of the carrot was to come back and race with both Ellie and Mia as clubmates," he said.
"That was something I was real privileged to do.
"To race against the Californians was terrific, it's great camaraderie and a lot of what it's about is, whilst it is a competition, they spend some time with Lifesaving Victoria learning different rescue techniques, that type of stuff and sharing that information."
Matt Hughes
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
Matt is a sports journalist at The Standard.
