Race #73

A stiff onshore breeze presented competitors with a nasty little chop to battle head on to the first buoy, but perhaps conditions were better than they looked from the shore as some rather smart times were recorded for the 750 metre swim. The first woman from the water was Rebecca Nesbit who lead in the winners from our previous two events Marisa Pentecost and Debbie Tanner.

Defending Series Champion, Heidi Alexander was a minute down heading out on the 4 kilometre run but was hoping the extra kilometre this time out would give her the necessary room to run down those ahead. And so it proved, as they came back into view at St Heliers Bay, Heidi had taken the lead from Marisa and secured her third victory of the season. Marisa Pentecost ran well to score a valuable second place just ahead of those renowned runners Nicole Cope and Sue Clark. A newcomer to the Series, Koumagawa Yukie was the next to finish, snatching fifth place from our regular competitors.

The men’s field started their race adjacent to and at the same time as the first women exited the water which gave the crowd lining the foreshore a simultaneous shot of sporting action to feast upon. Again the men’s field made short work of the 750 metre swim, with the unstoppable Brent Foster this time going head to head with Scott Rice around the buoys.

But after that the same old story unfolded for the fifth time this season. Swimming with Brent is only chapter one, chapter two is matching strides with him along Auckland’s waterfront and so far this season no one is getting close to doing that. Brent Foster records win number five, the ever fitter Rodney Gordon overcomes a 75 second deficit to run down Will Green for second. Taku Obara adds to the international flavour of the field to get up for fourth ahead of local lad, Clark Ellice.