Winning Strides.

The Australian Surf Life Saving Championships take place in Perth on 1–6 April. We catch up with Pierce Leonard, defending men’s champion, and Emma Wynne, under-19 champion, now in the open women’s category

IRON MAN – Pierce Leonard

How does it feel to be a newly minted champion defending your title?
It’s a thrill to be the Australian Ironman Champion at just
20. Defending the title, I don’t feel as much pressure as I’ve already achieved a lifetime goal. But I hope there are more titles to come.

Who is your strongest competition this year?
Anyone is capable of winning the race as it’s the strongest competition of the year.

How do you prepare for competition?
I do two months of solid training leading up to a major event – a lot of ski and board paddling along the beaches of the Gold Coast – and then taper down for a couple of weeks so I go into the race mentally and physically prepared.

Which is your favourite beach to train and relax on?
Most of my training is done at Northcliffe, Queensland. Living in Nobby’s, I like walking over to the beach for a surf to unwind.

How do you wind down?
After a two-hour swim session at 5.30am, I come home, make a big breakfast and read the newspaper. Then I walk across to the shops for a skinny-caramel-flat white, and try to stay away from the cakes! Once I finish the afternoon session at 6pm my mind is on dinner! After that I watch my favourite show, So You Think You Can Dance (which I can’t).

IRON GIRL – Emma Wynne

How does it feel to be the under-19 champ competing in the 2008 open category?
Even though I’ve been racing in opens since I was 16, being a first-year open is still daunting because I don’t have my age group as a backup anymore! When I was first racing opens it was surreal to compete against girls I had looked up to since I was in nippers, but now that I’ve raced them for a few years, most of us are good friends so it’s a lot of fun.

Who is your strongest competition this year?
It’s too hard to pick just one! Last year Liz Pluimers was second in the Nutri-Grain series and Naomi Flood is in good form so they’re two I’ll keep an eye on.

How do you prepare for competition?
Off-season training starts around June – so it’s cold, dark and wintery. We run for base fitness as well as doing longer, slower aerobic sessions on the craft and swimming training at the pool. As the competition gets closer, we do more explosive sprints to get ready to race.

Which is your favourite beach to train and relax on?
I live two minutes away from Burleigh Beach, Queensland, so it’s easy to walk down the hill and read a book to relax there. North Burleigh is my favourite training beach because I don’t have to drive anywhere!

How do you wind down?
I usually come home from training, have a shower, cook myself dinner then call my boyfriend who lives in Perth. If he’s in town, we snuggle on the couch (ha ha!). I then flick on the TV (ideally to watch Grey’s Anatomy) and relax for a while before reading a book and going to bed around 9.30pm.