Andrea Hewitt secured a podium finish in the 2012 ITU World Triathlon Championship, with a 7th place finish in front of huge crowds at the Barfoot & Thompson ITU World Tri Series Grand Final in the Auckland CBD on Saturday confirming third overall in the 8 race series.
The weather was the best it had been for most of the previous week and the public responded, with the tough course lined by crowds ten deep in many places as tens of thousands flocked to the Queens Wharf and CBD based venue.
While Hewitt couldn't match the pace of eventual race winner Anne Haug, 7th place was enough to secure a second consecutive podium in the ITU World Championship Series with Lisa Norden (SWE) the overall champion and Haug jumping to second place on the back of today's win.
 The elite womens ITU World Triathlon Series podium for 2012(Photo: Delly Carr / ITU; click to enlarge) |
"That is a good finish to the year", said Hewitt. "I stuck to the race plan and tried to conserve energy, so I could have a better run".
Hewitt didn't have the greatest of transitions, losing valuable time, but quickly caught the lead bunch of 7 athletes, running alongside Olympic medallist Lisa Norden and fellow kiwi Kate McIlroy but not series leader Erin Densham who withdrew early on the bike with illness.
Hewitt made her move on the last lap, but was unable to hold the fast pace of Haug.
"That last lap was the toughest, and I put everything into it, but I didn't get the result I'd hoped for, the crowd really pushed me home though."
A chilly 15 degree swim saw Hewitt third out of the water, followed closely by fellow Kiwis in McIlroy, Debbie Tanner and Nicky Samuels as all made the lead group on the bike.
The hilly bike course suited McIlroy's strong bike legs and she lead for much of the technical ride and shut down any breaks before making one of her own as the triathletes climbed Shortland Street with 3 laps to go. She stretched her lead out to 13 seconds, as her fellow kiwis controlled the bunch, but was caught on the penultimate lap by the chasers.
"That was pretty hard," said McIlroy. "I tried to make the ride honest, I figured I hadn't put a big enough gap on the girls, so I sat up, which was really frustrating. I thought if I made a move it would get everyone moving as well"
The crowd in the grandstand rose to their feet and cheered loudly every time the retiring Tanner passed though. Finishing in 28th place the emotional Tanner said "I can't describe how awesome it is in front of a home crowd. As much as I know I'm not anywhere near my potential, running in front of that crowd was amazing, I just had so much support out there and I loved it, what a way to go out!"
Tanner said now that she's retired from Elite racing she's going to enjoy sleeping in and taking some time off and is excited about her wedding next Friday!
ITU World Triathlon Series: Barfoot & Thompson Grand Final, Auckland
Elite Women
1 Anne Haug GER 2:10:49
2 Gwen Jorgenson USA 2:10:59
3 Barbara Riveros Diaz CHI 2:11:00
4 Lisa Norden SWE 2:11:03
5 Jodie Stimpson GBR 2:11:04
6 Rachel Klamer NED 2:11:08
7 Andrea Hewitt NZL 2:11:09
8 Kate McIlroy NZL 2:11:11
9 Sarah Groff NZL 2:11:20
10 Jure Ide JPN 2:11:21
plus NZers
28 Debbie Tanner NZL 2:15:00
29 Nicky Samuels NZL 2:15:21
2012 ITU World Triathlon Series: Final Rankings
1 Lisa Norden SWE
2 Anne Haug GER
3 Andrea Hewitt NZL
Plus
10 Kate McIlroy NZL
20 Nicky Samuels NZL
60= Debbie Tanner NZL
