Mt Barker sensation and triathlon newcomer Damien McAleese aiming high after WA triathlete of the year award

Rising Mt Barker triathlete Damien McAleese has “big ambitions” to tackle some of the premier ironman races around the globe after being named 2023-24 triathlete of the year in the male 25-29 age category. After a stellar season where he won all six of his triathlon events across the State including the Busselton 100, Tiger Snake Classic and Coastal Quest, McAleese was heralded as the State’s best at the Triathlon WA awards ceremony in May. Now ready to go even bigger, McAleese has set his sights on challenging himself against the best young triathletes from around the world when he heads to New Zealand in December for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. “I intentionally had a crack at trying to win this,” he said. “Your best six results qualify and I picked the six that best suited me and I won all of them. “I’ve got pretty big ambitions for the future, I’ll be stepping up and racing in the elite field for all local races this season coming. “I qualified for the half ironman world championships at the end of this year in New Zealand which has allocated slots for the top finishes in each age group around the world. “As soon as I got my slot in December, I’ve been working towards this and have a full year of a lot of work to try and get myself in the best shape possible.” After chalking up more than 15,000km of training last season, the 25-year-old said the region surrounding Mt Barker has provided the perfect environment to train under his Perth-based triathlon coach Chris Hanrahan. “Mt Barker is the ideal spot, it’s pretty slept on with lots of quiet roads,” McAleese said. “I do a heap of cycling and a heap of running on country roads so it’s pretty perfect. “I work at ALAC (Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre) so I swim before and after work which is pretty convenient. “I’ve done more than 16,000km in total last season so it was a pretty big year, I got a new coach as well so it was a big step up.” Celebrating his 25th birthday on the eve of the 2023-24 season, McAleese was one of the youngest athletes in the 25-29 age bracket on the WA circuit. His recent achievements include winning the male 25-29 division of the State long distance triathlon in Busselton in May this year, the State sprint distance triathlon in Hillarys in December last year and the State standard distance triathlon at Garden Island in October 2023. “I just stepped up into the next age group and that was my first year racing a different bunch of people, so I didn’t really have any idea how I would go,” he said. “Everyone sort of says that the 25-29 age group is a pretty strong age group for triathlon so I didn’t really know what to expect. “It was a bit nerve-wracking, sort of being like the youngest in that age group but I ended up turning out pretty good. “It’s pretty cool to win after a long year with a lot of training on my own.” McAleese is a relative newcomer to the sport, with a strong background in competitive swimming. He is a lifeguard at ALAC and also a member of the Albany Triathlon Club. McAleese was also a finalist in the 2023 Albany Sportsperson of the Year awards held earlier this year, nominated in the senior category that was won by Connor Bunce.