 Hilary Wicks celebrates after winning the 35-39 age group in Kona(Photo: Ironman NZ; click to enlarge) |
Auckland's Hilary Wicks became the fastest women's age group triathlete on the planet in today's Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
Wicks, an accountant from Papakura, withstood a strong finish from Australia's Kym Jaenke to win the women's 35-39 years age group by three minutes.
Her winning time of 9h50m03s was the fastest of all age groups in the tough conditions at Kona-Kailua, with the usual extreme heat combined with fiercely strong trade winds.
After finishing third in the 30-34 years age group last year, Wicks stepped up to the new division with a superb performance. She was ninth out of the 3.8km swim in 1:02.41 before building a winning lead with a tremendous effort in fierce head winds on the 180km bike.
Wicks clocked 5:16.05 which was the third fastest of all women age groupers and only seven professionals sent quicker, and they had the benefit of a 15 minute head start as the strong winds built during the day.
She managed a 3hr25m15s marathon which held all competitors at bay in an ultra-competitive category. Wicks was the only New Zealander to finish on the podium at Hawaii with seven top-10 finishers.
Closest was Auckland's Anna Ross who was fourth in the 30-34 years age group in 10:16:26, while fellow Aucklander's Larissa Marsh was seventh in the 25-29 years category in 10:24:18.
Among the leading lights was former world long distance medallist Jamie Hunt, making a return to the sport and qualifying in the 40-44 years age group, with top-10 finishers including Kumeu's Tiare Lund who was seventh in the 65-69 years division and Taupo's Neil Fleming who was sixth in the 75-59 years category.
NZ Age Group Results: Ironman World Championship, Kona, Hawaii
Female
25-29: Larissa Marsh (Auckland) 10:24.18, 7th.
30-34: Anna Ross (Auckland ) 10:16.26, 4th; Erin Furness (Hamilton) 10:31.15, 10th; Helen Kay (Auckland) 11:40.47, 47th.
35-39: Hilary Wicks (Auckland, NZL) 9:50.03, 1st; Kym Jaenke (AUS) 9:53.18, 2nd; Sheila Croft (USA) 10:00.55, 3rd. Also New Zealanders: Gigi Green (Auckland ) 10:57.45, 22nd.
44-44: Sandra Boubee (Tauranga) 11:42.28, 48th; Kim Dorling (Auckland) 12:30.54, 64th.
45-49: Aimee Perrett (Feilding) 11:46.15, 26th
50-54: Sue McMaster (Palmerston North) 11:46.13, 8th
55-59: Debbie Clark (Tauranga) 12:54.55, 13th
60-64: Shirley Rolston(Christchurch) 14:46.02, 15th
65-59: Tiare Lund (Kumeu) 15:38.39, 7th
Male
30-34: Andrew Black (Christchurch) 9:36.16, 33rd
35-39: Andrew Howse (Auckland )9:26.40, 14th; Scott Hotham (Auckland )10:28.37, 134th; Jarrod Newell (Auckland )11:03.35, 169th; Armando Galarraga (Auckland) 11:58.32, 184th.
40-44: Jamie Hunt (Auckland) 9:40.26, 16th; Jeff McGrath (new Plymouth) 10:08.19, 58th; Phil Richards (Drury) 10:59.51, 162nd.
45-49: David Craig (Wellington) 10:49.36, 94th
50-54: Mark Burke (Wellington) 11:19.37, 65th
55-59: Graeme MacDonald (Whangarei) 11:20.55, 21st; Brett Mudgway (Napier) 11:32.06, 28th; Andrew Davidson (Auckland) 12:29.30, 45th; David Moriarty (Havelock North) 12:44.29, 49th.
60-64: Alan Fletcher (Manukau City) 12:57.44, 32nd; Kingi Smiler (Wellington) 13:22.19, 37th.
75-79: Neil Fleming (Taupo) 15:56.44, 6th
