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| Sam Warriner wins the Steelhead Triathlon in Michgan Photo: Triathlon NZ |
Whangarei triathlete Sam Warriner has returned to winning form just 8 weeks after suffering a serious rib and lung injury to win the 70.3 (half Ironman) Steelhead Triathlon in Michigan USA overnight while Aucklander Kieran Doe finished third in the men’s event.
Making the victory all the sweeter for Warriner is that it came on her 38th birthday and was at the expense of some of the best half Ironman athletes in the world, including two former world champions.
The race centred on the stunning Lake Michigan area and began with a 1.9km swim. Warriner exited the water 35 seconds down on former ITU Long Course world champion Leana Cave (GBR), hardly surprising as the swim is the discipline still causing the most trouble for Warriner as her ribs continue to heal.
That deficit soon disappeared however as Warriner took the lead just 10km into the 90km bike leg and never looked back. By the end of the bike and the transition into the 21km run Warriner led by almost five minutes from Cave with former Ironman world champion Nina Kraft (GER) a further 30 seconds back.
By now Warriner was well into her stride and enjoying the day and continued to extend her lead out to around seven minutes on the half marathon run, giving herself plenty of time to soak up the applause of the crowd along the beachside finish straight who'd been warmed up by Andy Potts (USA) winning the men’s race just before.
Cave held on for second with Kraft in third. Warriner now heads back to Los Angeles to her training camp where she'll focus on speed work for Septembers ITU Grand Final on the Gold Coast of Australia.
In the men’s race Andy Potts (USA) proved too strong, running down a quality field that included Kieran Doe. Auckland’s Doe continues to race himself back into form and fitness following his illness earlier in 2009 that saw him withdraw from Ironman NZ, finishing a strong third behind Potts and Andrew Starykowicz.
