Cameron Brown, Gina Crawford and Nelson based German Britta Martin all raced superbly to secure top 5 finishes at Challenge Roth in Germany.
Ten-time Ironman New Zealand champion Brown was strong on the swim and bike but felt the effects of his efforts on the run. He dug deep however and was able to come away with a well-earned fourth place.
"I had a pretty good day here at Challenge Roth today. Good swim, rode with the leaders until 20km to go then I started to tire and had an average run to take fourth place. Not a bad result five weeks after Cairns Ironman but more time needed when your 40!," Brown said.
"Time to put in some solid training now for Hawaii. Incredible crowds and one great race in Roth. Everyone should put this race on their bucket list. Congrats to James Cunnama for taking the win one second under 8 hours. Back home to New Zealand and the family!"
In the women's field, new mother Gina Crawford raced her second iron distance event in two weeks after finishing second at Ironman France.
At Challenge Roth she went below nine hours and ran well to also come home in fourth place.
"2 iron distance races in 2 weeks completed! Sub 9hr, 3hr and 5 sec on run. Pretty stoked, was tough though for sure!" Crawford wrote on Twitter.
Honorary Kiwi Britta Martin was less than two minutes behind Crawford, crossing the line to take fifth. The German has lived in Nelson since 2007 and is now very much a fulltime iron distance athlete.
The overall titles were won by James Cunnama of South Africa and Great Britain's Rachel Joyce.
Cunnama won in 7:59:59 ahead of Germany's Timo Bracht who secured the title of Official ETU Long Distance Triathlon European Champion. Third place went to Mike Aigroz from Switzerland.
Joyce won the women's race in 8:45:04 ahead of Germany's Sonja Tajsich and last year's second place finisher Julia Gajer.
Results: Challenge Roth, Germany
Men
1. James Cunnama (RSA) 7:59:59
2. Timo Bracht (GER) 8:03:28
3. Mike Aigroz (SUI) 8:08:01
4. Cameron Brown (NZL) 8:10:05
5. Stephen Bayliss (GBR) 8:13:01
Plus;
16. Jamie Whyte (NZL) 10:36:38
Women
1. Rachel Joyce (GBR) 8:45:04
2. Sonja Tajsich (GER) 8:49:47
3. Julia Gajer (GER) 8:57:02
4. Gina Crawford (NZL) 8:59:35
5. Britta Martin (NZL) 9:01:10
