Sean O’Neill takes on the X-Adventure Triathlon

News Release / 25.02.2013

Six time Western Australia Triathlete of the Year, Sean O’Neill, is set to tackle his next adventure, the inaugural X-Adventure Dunsborough off-road triathlon on March 23 to 24 in Dunsborough, Western Australia.

X-Adventure is an off-road triathlon held in the heart of the adventure racing capital of Western Australia, consisting of a 1500m ocean swim, 12.5km coastal train run, and a 25km mountain bike. Shorter distances are also on offer for those new to the sport, with entries currently at over 1,300 participants across the weekend.

O’Neill, a Perth-born notable triathlete and adventure racer, is a seven-time state sprint distance champion and five-time state Olympic distance champion, as well as an Australian Elite representative at the ITU Long Course World Championships in 2009. With plenty of triathlon achievements in the bag, Sean turned to adventure racing back in 2006 where he has won seven Anaconda Adventure Races, including a home state win at the world’s biggest adventure race, the Anaconda Augusta Race held in November each year. O’Neill was also part of the winning team at the Great Southern Adventure Race, in Albany, 2008.

With an adventurous alter-ego and one that performs as well off-road as on it, O’Neill is excited about a return to form after starting a family last year and continuing his role as father and full time worker, whilst packing in training when he can.

Rapid Ascent caught up with Sean O’Neill for a one-on-one interview about his current form, and the lead up to the inaugural X-Adventure, Dunsborough race.

Rapid Ascent: You’ve competed in nearly every one of Rapid Ascent’s adventure races, which would be your favourite race to date and why?

O’Neill: Probably the Augusta Adventure Race would have to be my favourite because of the local crowd down there and I love the course. I suppose the event itself just gets huge crowds and that’s fantastic, so I just love to be involved.

Rapid Ascent: So what drew you to the X-Adventure race in Dunsborough, where the Augusta race used to be?

O’Neill: Partly not having done any racing for a couple of years I’ve been itching to get back into it and with Dunsborough probably the home of adventure racing in WA. So yeh, I really wanted to get back down there and do a race again; and the format just really suits the environment, so I’m looking forward to it.