Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Fest

Australian Team Announced for Tri-Nations Trophy

News Release / 21.08.2015

Representing Australia in the Tri Nations Trophy at this year’s Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Fest – the World’s Biggest Adventure Race – will be: Elizabeth Dornom, Jarad Kohlar and Mark Padgett.

The Tri Nations Trophy is a competition between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and is held as part of the main Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Race – the world’s biggest adventure race

Each nation has three designated competitors (2 male and 1 female), all of whom compete as individuals, and the nation with the lowest cumulative team time is the winner!

The Australian team was selected through a public voting system. Three male and three female highly accomplished adventure racing athletes nominated for selection in the team and the Australian public was invited to vote on who should represent them.

Elizabeth Dornom from Victoria was the female winner of the Act-Belong-Commit Augusta Adventure Race last year so it was no surprise she was voted into the team. This year, she will be defending her winning title as well as the Tri Nations Trophy.

"Obviously representing Australia is a fantastic honour and racing as part of the Australian Team adds a fantastic dimension to an individual adventure race,” said Elizabeth Dornom.

“The added incentive of racing for the country’s pride helps me to dig deep and put in that extra effort to get the very best out of myself," she said.

The name Jarad Kohlar is synonymous with Australian adventure sports. With an impressive resume of race wins across numerous adventure pursuit disciplines, Jarad personifies what adventure sport is all about – tough, eclectic, fun-loving and a little bit wild – and was a popular choice for the Australian team.

Jarad was a member of the winning Australian team last year, bringing the Trophy back on Australian soil, and finished fourth overall individual.

“I had the honour of representing my country last year and we took out first place, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to defend the trophy again this year,” said Victorian-based Jarad Kohlar.

Mark Padgett from Tasmania hasn’t raced at Augusta before however he’s the current Australian Multisport Champion, having won the 2014 Freycinet Challenge.

“I’m not a full time athlete; I represent what an average person can do with a bit of structured training. Representing Australia in any sport is a privilege and I will turn myself inside out to try and retain the Tri Nations Trophy,” said Mark Padgett.

The Australian Team will be up against a strong contingent from New Zealand, consisting of Sam Clark, Hayden Wilde and Simone Maier. The South African team is yet to be announced.

The Augusta Adventure Race is a 55.9km multidiscipline off-road race with over 1,900 competitors tackling a 12.5km coastal run, 1.9km ocean swim, 13km ocean paddle, 26km mountain bike and 2.5km beach run to the finish.

Two additional race formats are held to complement the sold-out premier race, the Mini Adventure Race and Junior Survivor, and over 3,400 competitors are expected across the weekend – making it the world’s biggest adventure race.

Check out the details at www.AugustaAdventureFest.com.au

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