Poole and Leader Crowned King and Queen of the Lake

After three events over two days, Michael Poole and Jaimee Leader have been crowned King and Queen of the Lake at the Eves Blue Lake Multisport Festival.

A stacked field of triathletes took on the series which included a reverse Aquathon (5.5km run and 800m lake swim), a 2km across the lake swim on Saturday and a Sprint Triathlon on Sunday at the stunning Lake Tikitapu in Rotorua.

The women’s race was more clear-cut with Jaimee Leader (Palmerston North) leading the series from the first race and eventually by 4 minutes from her coach and former World number one, Sam Warriner. Steffie Holcroft from Hamilton rounded out the women’s series race.

“It was awesome to see the depth of the field we had competing for the prestigious King and Queen title. It was very impressive considering a national event was held on the same weekend!” says event organiser Charlotte Pearson.

The event had an overall increase in numbers with over 300 people getting involved in one or more of the events. 185 people took on the 2km or 750m lake swim on Saturday evening, including a number who braved the waters without a wetsuit. Swim Rotorua swimmer William Spear was first across the line in the 2km event, with Aquabladz swim squad from Taranaki taking out a clean sweep of placings in the Hinemoa (non-wetsuit) swim category.

It wasn’t all about the pointy end of the field though. For the first time at the festival, the Meat Shoppe Kids Triathlon took place. 53 kids aged 4 – 12 completed the 100m swim, 2km bike and 1km run on Saturday morning.  All kids received a free sausage sizzle at the finish line and a spot prize. The kids were happy to receive tips and encouragement from Olympian, Sam Warriner, who started the event and crossed the line with the final competitor.

The Eves Blue Lake Multisport Festival has been going for 28 years and is organised by the Rotorua Association of Triathletes.

Results

Aquathon

Male                                                               Female
1st           Kyle Smith           29:00                   Jaimee Leader     32:35
2nd          Michael Poole     29.35                   Lydia Hale           33:11
3rd           Owen Miller       30:47                    Sam Warriner      34:03

Swim (2km)
Male                                                                 Female
1st           William Spear     26:21                     Caitlan Ogier      27:10
2nd          Julian Weir          26:36                     Jaimee Leader   27:20
3rd           Sam Osborne     26:38                      Sam Warriner    27:49

Sprint Triathlon
Male                                                                 Female
1st Michael Poole              1:01:35                  1st Jaimee Leader             1:06:19
2nd Kyle Smith                    1:04:07                  2nd Sam Warriner             1:08:36
3rd Owen Miller                 1:04:19                  3rd Steffie Holcroft           1:10:08

King of the Lake                                              Queen of the Lake
Male                                                                 Female
1st Michael Poole              1:57:52                  1st Jaimee Leader             2:06:15
2nd Kyle Smith                    2:00:04                  2nd Sam Warriner             2:10:29
3rd Owen Miller                 2:02:15                  3rd Steffie Holcroft           2:14:10

For full results go to www.rats.org.nz