Fielding Turns On A Stunner For Contact Duathlon Nationals

The Contact National Duathlon Championships were held today in Fielding with age group titles on the line in open and school categories.

The weather was perfect with no wind, slightly overcast skies and temperatures in the high teens greeting the 380 competitors.

Racing was focused in and around Fielding High School with three distance categories on offer from sprint to short to standard culminating in the National Standard Duathlon championship, a race that also carried Oceania Championship status for the elite competitors.

In the women’s race it came down to a duel between Melanie Burke (Auckland) and Hannah Lawrence (Auckland) with Burke taking control in the bike leg to win by just under a minute. Burke is a former Rotorua marathon winner while Lawrence has a good record on the track and has only recently turned her hand to cycling.

Bruce Hunter (Auckland) won the men’s title by an even bigger margin from Chris Sanson (Levin), clearing out to almost two minutes over the 10km run, 40km bike and 5km course. Third home was Brodie Madgwick (Auckland).

Hunter had to chase from behind though, Cameron Goldsmid (Auckland) and David Cooper went under 32 minutes for the opening 10km but Goldsmid faded during the bike and second run, while Cooper had the misfortune to crash after a dog wandered on to the course, leaving the Aucklander lacerated and grazed on the roadside and the dog not much better off.

Contact National Duathlon Championship
Standard Distance – Oceania Championship
10km run, 40km bike, 5km run
Male
1 Bruce Hunter Auckland 1:50:31
2 Chris Sanson Levin 1:52:16
3 Brodie Madgwick Auckland 1:52:58

Female
1 Melanie Burke Auckland 2:03:35
2 Hanna Lawrence Auckland 2:04:32
3 Elaine Brent Wellington 2:08:23

SCHOOLS CHAMPS PROVE POPULAR
The growth of triathlon and duathlon in recent times was best illustrated by the strong turnout in the Contact Schools Nationals categories, with athletes from as far a field as Whangarei in the North and Christchurch in the South making the journey.

Contact National Schools Championship
Year 7 Boys
2.5km Run (1 lap) / 10km Cycle (2 short laps) / 1.5km Run (Out & Back)
1 Leo Roper, 32:45
2 Jack Davies, 34:11
3 Alexander Morreau, 34:42

Year 7 Girls
2.5km Run (1 lap) / 10km Cycle (2 short laps) / 1.5km Run (Out & Back)
1Jaimee Leader, 35:17
2 Lili Crombie, 36:48
3 Elizabeth Stannard, 37:06

Year 8 Boys
2.5km Run (1 lap) / 10km Cycle (2 short laps) / 1.5km Run (Out & Back)
1 Mitchell Rutter, 31:59
2 Tayler Reid, 32:34
3 Jacob Priddey, 33:24

Year 8 Girls
2.5km Run (1 lap) / 10km Cycle (2 short laps) / 1.5km Run (Out & Back)
1 Alana Lythe, 34:12
2 Stephanie Johnson, 36:39
3 Katie Smith, 36:50

Under 14 Boys
2.5km Run (1 lap) / 10km Cycle (2 short laps) / 2.5km Run (1 lap)
1 Kieran Coates, Trident High School, 32:30
2 Jonty Morreau, Auckland Grammar, 32:53
3 Jay Wallwork, Pakuranga School, 33:13

Under 14 Girls
2.5km Run (1 lap) / 10km Cycle (2 short laps) / 2.5km Run (1 lap)
1 Susannah Lynch, St Mary’s College Wellington, 35:53
2 Alice McFall, Aquarius College, 36:42
3 Anneka Herdson, 37:01

Under 16 Boys
4km Run / 13.3km Cycle (1 long lap) / 2.5km Run (1 lap)
1 Sam Morreau, Auckland Grammar, 42:43
2 Andrew Ranford, Takapuna Grammar, 43:17
3 Joshua Kenyon, Taupo Nui a Tia, 43:31

Under 16 Girls
4km Run / 13.3km Cycle (1 long lap) / 2.5km Run (1 lap)
1 Mikayla Nielsen, Correspondence, 50:09
2 Rebecca Burridge, Diocesan School Auckland, 51:24
3 Phillipa Brown, Rangitoto College, 51:54

Under 19 Boys
5km Run (2 laps) / 20km Cycle (4 short laps) / 2.5km Run (1 lap)1 Daniel Smith, Auckland Grammar, 55:30
2John Glanville, Taupo Nui a Tia, 55:37
3 Owen Miller, Mount Maunganui College, 55:51

Under 19 Girls
5km Run (2 laps) / 20km Cycle (4 short laps) / 2.5km Run (1 lap)1 Josie Wilcox, Nelson Girls, 1:04:22
2 Amelia Watkinson, Diocesan School Auckland, 1:05:10
3 Ruebyn Mary Jane Bisschops, Oamaru College, 1:05:56