Nutri-Grain Ironman surf series 2022/23: Conner Maggs called up as injury replacement for Rounds 1 & 2

By | Amanda Lulham | 3 min read, December 11, 2022 – 11:33 AM, NewsLocal

When Conner Maggs and his family moved to Australia from South Africa, they watched a group of Nippers competing on the Northern Beaches one weekend and decided they wanted to be a part of it.

Now, almost 10 years on, Maggs will be competing at the beach where he kicked off his surf life-saving career as an eight-year-old with the Manly Nippers when the 2022/23 Nutri-Grain Ironman series opens at the famous beach this coming weekend. Maggs is part of a new wave of talent competing in the 2022/23 series, which kicks off at Manly on December 17 and 18 and boasts some of the best water men and water women in the country.

The talented young schoolboy swimmer, currently competing at the NSW senior state age championships at Sydney Olympic Park this week, missed out on a spot in the series via trials. But an injury to competitor Jy Timperley paved the way for his wildcard into the opening two rounds. “I got the call on Friday. I was so excited I was jumping up and down, and mum was running around the house,’’ Maggs said of being told he was in the series for the first time. The Pittwater House student, who lives at Cromer, is also competing at the NSW swim championships and, on the weekend, finished with a silver medal and a PB in the U17s 400m. And while the Newport Surf Life Saving Club youngster has dreams of competing for Australia one day in either still water or open water, he also has a great love for the surf. After Saturday and Sunday’s ironman racing at Manly, he will back up by contesting a 5km open water swim at Penrith.

Maggs has been identified as a rising star of surf life-saving for some time and won numerous Australian titles in teams events at the Aussies 2022. In October, he won the short-course race at the Coolangatta Gold after training with Olympian and surf life-saving star Ky Hurst on the Gold Coast in the lead-up. “He’s the greatest surf swimmer we have ever seen, and I just learnt so much,“ Maggs said. In the lead-up to the opening round of the Nutri-Grain Series, he is training alongside Jackson Borg, one of the favourites for the series podium. “I know I’m young, but I just want to go out there and do my best, and I feel like a top 10 result would be amazing,“ he said.

The series will be contested by 20 men and 20 women who will race on three of Australia’s most famous beaches in the six-round series. NSW will host the opening for rounds at Manly on December 17 and 18 and then Maroubra on January 14 and 15. The final two rounds will be contested at Kurrawa beach on the Gold Coast on February 4 and 5.