Graham O'Grady successfully defended his Taupo half ironman title leading throughout to win the 1.9km swim, 90km bike and 21.1km run by eight minutes in 4h 0m 28s.
 The top men from the Taupo Half Ironman(Photo: Darryl Carey) |
The 31 year old has had a great start to the season following up last week's victory in the Tinman Tri at Mt Maunganui with a well judged performance.
O'Grady said that they were fortunate with the weather.
"They were perfect conditions, flat swim and not much wind out on the bike. I always love racing here and the crowd support is amazing," he said.
The Kinloch local was two minutes slower than last year and four minutes outside the race record.
"I wasn't trying for a record or anything; I just go about doing my own thing. I had an eight minute lead 5km into the run so I've got a lot of other races on this summer so if I can do it within myself a little bit it's always nice and I can recover and carry on training," said O'Grady.
His next race is defending his national half ironman title in Tauranga at the Port of Taurang Half on January 4th.
Mike Phillips of Christchurch was second in 4h 8m 51s with Rob Creasy of Cambridge third in 4h 10m 36s. Phillips held on well for second despite taking a penalty on the bike.
"I had to sit out for three minutes or so late on the bike, I was in second so I tried to make my way back into second as quickly as I could and hold it on the run," he said.
Creasy said that he had a few bad patches on the bike.
"But my legs did feel right when I started running, I was quite a way back and I knew a few of the guys up ahead were pretty tired so I just kept focusing on the road as much as possible, it was a concentrated effort on not pushing too hard at the start," said Creasy.
It was fourth time lucky for Cambridge's Candice Hammond who took out the women's title in 4h 25m 40s. She was just a minute outside Samantha Warriner's 2011 race record. Warriner entered but did not start after suffering an injured hamstring in the Tinman event.
Hammond said that she remained positive through the event after being well back after leaving the water.
"I'm trying to work quite hard on my swimming but it is taking me a long time to get it right. I try to keep it positive in my mind and just focus on the bike and the run," she said.
"It is the fourth time I've raced here and I really wanted to win one so I'm really stoked, it means a lot to me," said the former national rowing representative.
The 29 year old part time sheep farm worker has a full schedule of racing ahead taking on the Tauranga half, Challenge Wanaka, Wells New Plymouth, Ironman NZ and then Cairns.
Hannah Lawrence fifth last year and second in 2010 came through into second again after lying in fourth after the bike.
"It was a bit of a relief today last year was a tough year so it's really nice to be back again. It was a little rough on the first lap of the run but I kept it under control and I tried to bring it home a lot stronger on the last lap and thankfully the legs came around," said Lawrence.
Amelia Watkinson second after the swim and led through transition after the bike ride was third in 4h 38m 27s.
"I had a good swim I managed to get my own space at the start right through to the end. The bike was not bad, I possibly biked a little bit hard and I cramped in the bum muscles by the time I got to the run. Good on Candice and Hannah on having strong runs," she said.
Results, Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Half Ironman, Taupo
(Swim 1.9km, Cycle 90km, Run 21.1km)
Men
1. Graham O'Grady (Kinlock) 4h 0m 28s
2. Mike Phillips (Chch) 4h 8m 51s
3. Rob Creasy (Cambridge) 4h 10m 36s
4. Josh Harrison (Akld) 4h 12m 34s
5. Jaroslav Kovacic (Akld) 4h 14m 11s
6. Chris Sanson (P/Nth) 4h 16m 50s
7. Stephen Sheldrake (Gisborne) 4h 17m 2s
8. Tony Edmonds (Akld) 4h 18m 27s
9. Jacson Kluts (Akld) 4h 19m 0s
10. Bevan McKinnon (Akld) 4h 20m 11s
Women
1. Candice Hammond (Cambridge) 4h 25m 40s
2. Hannah Lawrence (Akld) 4h 37m 54s
3. Amelia Watkinson (Akld) 4h 38m 27s
4. Tineke Stewart (Lower Hutt) 4h 43m 26s
5. Taryn Ryan (Wgtn) 4h 45m 59s
6. Janine Sax (Tauranga) 4h 49m 33s
7. Nikki Edwards (Hamilton) 4h 50m 29s
8. Pamela Meyer (Akld) 4h 55m 13s
9. Liana Costello (P/Nth) 4h 59m 32s
10. Jo Carrel (Akld) 5h 1m 10s
