A Royle occasion

Triathlete Aaron Royle has become the Institute’s most recent world champion after a stirring performance in the men’s under-23 category at the 2012 ITU World Championships.

Royle began strongly and stayed in the lead group throughout the whole race, eventually sprinting to victory to finish in a time of one hour, 57 minutes and 17 seconds, three seconds ahead of second place.

“I had to stay relaxed during that run. I just wanted to watch from the back and see how everyone is looking, my plan was to wait until that very last minute and try and hold on for the sprint,” Royle said following the race.

“It’s sometimes hard to do that because you can get a little bit anxious but I just stayed patient and it worked out for me today.”

Royle becomes the first Australian athlete to win the under-23 world championship since fellow NSWIS athlete Brad Kahlefeldt in 2002, and the first Australian male to win a world title since 2005.