Geoff Helisma | Thirteen athletes from the Clarence Valley Triathlon Club have qualified to contest their age groups at the 2018 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final at the Gold Coast (September 12-16). It’s an extraordinary result for the club and coach Darren Adams – nine out of the nine athletes he trains through his business SwiftMultisport Yamba qualified. “Every state had a couple of qualifying races,” he said, “and people travelled to get points for their races.“The top 20 point getters in each division – the age groups are at five-year intervals – qualify for the Australian team. “It was a nice little surprise for a small town like Yamba and the club. “Our qualifiers range from 18 to 53 and they are mostly competing in different age groups.” Mr Adams said he thought that the high number of qualifiers “comes down to having a good bunch of athletes, to start with, and a great training environment”. “It’s hard work but, in the meantime, you have to make it fun and enjoyable. “They put in the time and effort to qualify.” Mr Adams said each of the triathletes he coaches spent about 10 to 15 hours training over six days a week. The athletes competed in various races around Australia over the past 12 months to qualify for the event, which will host 5,000 triathletes from 45 nations. Does he have any expectations? “Not really,” he said. “I think when you get to that level you have just got to try your best and any improvement you do, or if you achieve a top 20 finish in the world, that would be very creditable.” Underlining the outstanding result for a small regional club; only three triathletes qualified from SwiftMultisport Brisbane, which is managed by his brother and business partner Jarrad Adams.