Jacob ‘Jake’ Birtwhistle is a triathlete and Olympian who was awarded a Scholarship within the 2016 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program, and was paired with Glynis Nunn-Cearns OAM as his Mentor.
Jake was born in Launceston, Tasmania, in 1995 and excelled at track and cross country running as a junior. He was crowned World Cross Country School Champion in 2012 and won a total of 11 junior national titles in cross country and middle-distance track events. He made the decision to switch to triathlon as a 17-year-old and enjoyed immediate success.
Jake won the Australian Youth Olympic Festival and the Australian Triathlon Junior National Championships in 2013, as well as the Oceania title. He defended the national junior crown in 2014 and that same year won the ITU Duathlon World Championships (bike and run).
Podium finishes became the norm for Jake, who won the national open title in 2015 as well as the Oceania crown at U23 and senior level, before claiming another gold in the U23 category at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Challenge. In 2017, he won gold in the world championships in the mixed relay, the same event he would win at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, where he also won the Elite Men’s category.
Throughout 2018, 2019 and 2020 Jake was rarely off the podium, and won races throughout the world, before being selected for the Australian team to compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games, where he finished 16th in the individual event and 9th in the Mixed Relay.
Honours & Achievements
- 2012: Tahiti ITU Sprint Triathlon Oceania Cup – winner
- 2013: Australian Youth Olympic Festival, Mix Youth Relay – winner
- 2013: Australian Youth Olympic Festival – winner
- 2013: AUS Triathlon Junior National Championships – winner
- 2013: Wellington OUT Triathlon Oceania Championships – winner
- 2013: Eton Dorney ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup – fourth place
- 2014: AUS Triathlon Junior National Championships – winner
- 2014: Devonport OUT Triathlon Oceania Championships – second place
- 2014: Mooloolaba OUT Triathlon Oceania Cup – winner
- 2014: Pontevedra ITU Duathlon World Championships – winner
- 2014: Larache ATU Sprint Triathlon African Cup – winner
- 2014: ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Edmonton – second place
- 2015: AUS Triathlon National Championships – winner
- 2015: Devonport OUT Triathlon Oceania Championships, U23 & Elite Men – winner
- 2015: Wollongong OUT Sprint Triathlon Oceania Cup – winner
- 2015: Mooloolaba ITU Triathlon World Cup – second place
- 2015: ITU World Triathlon Grand Final Chicago, U23 men’s – winner
- 2016: Gisborne OUT Triathlon Oceania Championships – third place
- 2016: ITU World Triathlon Hamburg – second place
- 2017: Hamburg ITU Triathlon Mixed Relay World Championships – winner
- 2017: ITU World Triathlon Edmonton – second place
- 2018: Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Mixed relay – winner
- 2018: Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Elite Men – winner
- 2018: ITU World Triathlon Yokohama – second place
- 2018: ITU World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Edmonton – winner
- 2018: ITU World Triathlon Montreal – third place
- 2019: Daman World Triathlon Mixed Relay Series Abu Dhabi – winner
- 2019: AJ Bell World Triathlon Leeds – winner
- 2019: Hamburg Wasser World Triathlon – winner
- 2020 (2021): Tokyo Olympic Games – Solo, 16th
- 2020 (2021): Tokyo Olympic Games – Mixed, 9th
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