Dean Delights Home Crowd With Aquathlon Title

Harrison Dean delighted the local crowd in winning the National Aquathlon Championships in his home town of Nelson today, out running Marco van der Stel (Holland) in a close finish with Tom Curtis (Great Britain) running home third.

There was no such local success in the women’s race with the Dutch triathlon squad dominating proceedings with Rachel Klamer and Maaike Caelers first and second, ahead of young prosptect Nicole van der Kay (Taupo) in third.

Conditions were near perfect with a cool and overcast morning giving way to a typically warm and sunny afternoon as athletes lined up in all age groups chasing national titles and qualification to the 2012 World Championships in Auckland in October in an event jointly hosted by local Nelson Triathlon and Multisport Club and Triathlon New Zealand.

In the men’s race Dean quickly asserted his authority, running to an early lead of 27 seconds over Curtis and van der Stel in the opening 2.5km run leg. van der Stel made his move in the 1km swim though, closing the gap and pulling away to a 10 second lead as the running shoes were donned once more for a repeat 2.5km loop around the Nelson CBD and the Trafalgar Centre, but it wasn’t enough with Nelson local Dean having the legs to win by ten seconds.

“My race plan was to get as far ahead in the first run and get away from Marco because he is fast and as you saw he caught me up in the swim,” said Dean.

“But luckily I had built enough margin in the first run and was able to close it out but we battled hard on the second run and I just managed to get there so well done to Marco, he was awesome, he kept the hammer down the whole way.

“I didn’t feel like I had it in my legs to go as quick on the second run so it was a bit of a game as we both attacked and slowed down and both tried to hold on at different times. Luckily for me I came off best, it could have gone either way really.

“I have been training in Nelson for the past month or so and headed back to Auckland recently. But I love to come and race here at home, it is a wicked city for triathlon and the weather is amazing so why not?”

Klamer was the class athlete in the women’s field, following runner up finishes at the latest two rounds of the Contact Tri Series behind Andrea Hewitt (Wanaka) and Kate McIlroy (Kinloch). After giving up a small lead to young Taupo flyer Nicole van der Kaay, Klamer dominated proceedings to win by 41 seconds.

“It is nice to win one and not be in second place!” said a delighted Klamer.

“This was all about some good training, we have had a week off after Kinloch, I enjoyed the race today, it was a lot of fun. For the first 2.5km our coach John (Hellemans) told us to take it easy so I ran with Maaike but out of transition we swam together to the first buoy and I decided to increase the pace as it felt really easy.

“The second run felt better than the first run which surprised me but that was nice. Swimming after a run wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. One thing I didn’t realise is that it would be salt water; I dived in and thought ‘mmmm, this is salt water’. But no, swimming after a run wasn’t too bad.”

Van der Kaay raced superbly to come home in third overall, a clear winner in her 16 to 17 age group and confirm her potential as a real prospect in triathlon for the future with Flossie van Dyke the first Kiwi home to take out the national title in that category.

Others to impress included the former Bishop of Nelson, Derek Eaton. Not only was he the first (known) man of the cloth across the finish line, but he was a winner in his 70 to 74 age group, adding a national aquathlon title to his State Ocean Swim Series title.

New Zealand Aquathlon National Champs
Nelson
2.5km run, 1km swim, 2.5km run
Women
1          Rachel Klamer         Holland          32:35
2          Maaike Caelers        Holland          33:16
3          Nicole van der KaayTaupo            34:07
4          Rachel Hamill           Hamilton        35:27
5          Lydia Hale                 Tauranga       36:17
Men
1          Harrison Dean          Nelson           30:45
2          Marco van der Stel   Holland          30:55
3          Tom Curtis                 Great Britain  31:59
4          Jonathan Linyard    Nelson           34:13
5          Joe Thornton            Nelson           34:44

Image: www.shuttersport.co.nz