Shannon Eckstein. Photo / Getty Images
World champion ironman Shannon Eckstein has welcomed a move to bring the best surf lifesavers on the globe to Piha next summer.
Organisers of the A$325,000 ($430,000) Kellogg's Nutrigrain ironman series want to include the rugged West Coast beach on their revised schedule, with series promoter Guy Leech - also
a former ironman legend - working through a plan to bring a round across the Tasman.
Eckstein, who led Australia to a clean sweep of the International Challenge test series in Mount Maunganui this week, won his sixth ironman series title on the Gold Coast last month and was excited about the proposed expansion.
"We're chasing big waves and thrills and spills and I'd love to be out here next year and, hopefully, we will be," Eckstein said. "Piha's got a bit more of a name because of the big surf."
Mount Maunganui was also touted as a possible venue for a New Zealand leg but the fickle East Coast swell, as seen during the three-test series this week, counted against the Bay of Plenty beach.
"We have submissions in New Zealand to make it happen but Piha is the beach we've targeted and that's an ironman stronghold," Leech said. "The chance of going to New Zealand is strong and I'm doing everything I can to get us there."
This season's series was a five-round affair, hosted by Queensland's Currumbin, Coolum and Noosa beaches, Bondi in Sydney and Portsea in Victoria.
Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Scott Bartlett has called for a lift in the skill work on his Kiwi troops, after being shown up in the International Challenge by Eckstein and his slick team-mates.
"We had some good team relays and our beach sprinters did a great job," Bartlett said. "Each test, we got better and our skills improved throughout the week but that's the area we still need to work on, not just at the elite level, but right through the country, to make sure we get better and faster at the starts and to make sure we have that back-end speed as well."
Australia won Friday's final test by 109 points to 98, dominating the water arena, with New Zealand's only wins off the sand in the mixed board relay and mixed ski relay.
