The conditions on Saturday morning could not have been more perfect for the 30th anniversary Air New Zealand Rarotonga Triathlon which was held with grateful thanks to the Raina family from the Tri site behind Enua Manea Hall in Titikaveka.

Over 100 athletes gathered in front of the calm and beautiful lagoon, racking bikes and taking in the occasion. The traditional warrior greeting sent the competitors out into the water to begin the first challenge of the afternoon, a 1500 metres swim.

The calm conditions produced some very fast swim times, with Bryan Rhodes, who had previously won the CITC Boiler Swim on Thursday, the first to exit the water in a time of 20:52 minutes, followed closely by Jackie Healey 23:18 mins and Olivia Ritchie 23:52 mins.

New Zealand's Kevin Hann competes in the cycle leg of the Air New Zealand Rarotonga Triathlon event on Saturday. LOSIRENE LACANIVALU/24050515

The swimmers charged from the sea to their bikes to begin the 42-kilometre cycle leg taking them from Tikioki into town, and out to Black Rock, where they climbed hospital hill before turning out towards Arorangi and then making a full turn back to the start.

Conditions on the cycle were good, with many athletes enjoying the new smooth road which undoubtedly led to faster times and a more enjoyable cycle leg. 

The leader unfortunately took a wrong turn around Harley Street and Rob Dalimore of Auckland City Tri Club took the lead, followed by chasers Bron Healey, Carl Ritchie and our local man Roland Neururer.

A member of the Dennis & The Mennis team made up of Kevin Taikato, Moana-Jane Scott, and Denise Blackley at the Air New Zealand Rarotonga Triathlon event on Saturday. LOSIRENE LACANIVALU/24050514

In the ladies race, Olivia Ritchie had passed Jackie Healey, and locals Adrianna Skurosz, her daughter 16-year-old Maya Postrzygacz and Joan Murphy were making ground after a great swim.

In the teams race, where competitors can share the race legs between two or three people, local team One Week Notice had taken a commanding lead after a very fast swim by Kelly Pick in 25:50 mins and cyclist Lucy McDonald was putting in a solid effort on the bike.

Serena Hunter and Ara Wyatt were also amongst the leaders out of the water for their respective teams Trepid Trio and juniors Bring Home the Bacon, and their teams’ cyclists Andrew Whittaker and Edmund Postrzygacz (13) were chasing the leaders.

Back to the individual race, there was a solid stream of competitors leaving transition and heading onto the bike leg, with about half of the field having completed the swim under 40 minutes.

The fastest cyclist of the day Dallimore came in a fantastic time of 1:07:31 hours and headed out onto the 10km run.

A heavy shower at around 3.15pm made conditions difficult for the cyclists and made for a wet run for those already on the run course. Third place Carl Ritchie had a blistering run which was the fastest run of the day, completing the 10km in 38:07 mins and whilst he passed Bron Healey, it wasn’t quite quick enough to catch winner Dallimore who completed the full triathlon in 2:18:25 hours, Ritchie came in second in a time of 2:19:33 hrs and third male was Bron Healey 2:26:10 hours.

A cyclist powers through during the Air New Zealand Rarotonga Triathlon event on Saturday. LOSIRENE LACANIVALU/24050510

The fourth-place man and our first local male for the 11^th time was Roland Neururer in 2:34:34 hours. Neururer had led the locals charge from the front and had a solid race in the water and on the land.

In the ladies race, Olivia Ritchie, the defending champion came home victorious for the second year in a row in a time of 2:23:05 hrs followed by Adrianna Skurosz, the first local lady to cross the finish line, in 2:40:50 hrs and third place was Rarotonga’s Joan Murphy in a time of 2:47:31 hrs.

Local athletes all performed extremely well, with Maya Postrzygacz coming home fourth overall and the third local lady in 2:52:45 hrs and Lauren Turner completing her first Olympic Distance Triathlon with eighth finish overall and fourth local lady in a time of 3:17:12 hrs. 

Our local men also had an extremely successful afternoon with Mike Carr placing sixth overall and second local man in a time of 2:53:22 hrs and completing his first ever Olympic Distance Triathlon, Andrew Menzies was placed eighth male overall and third local male 3:07:23 hrs, Alex Dullard ninth overall and fourth local male 3:08:17 hrs, and Jacob Pynenburg 10^th overall and fifth local male in a time of 3:09:46 hrs.

In the teams race, the locals were clearly fast and furious and team One Week Notice dominated the race with the fastest swim by Kelly Pick  and cycle by Lucy McDonald and Brooke Ross followed with fastest team 10km run to seal the win for One Week Notice in a time of 2:28:30 hrs.

Nikao Heights Heros made up of Phoebe Smith, Dean Yarrall and Gus Allen finished second in a time of 2:44:44 hrs and third place went to Trepid Trio made up of Serena Hunter, Andrew Whittaker and Fiona Pekepo who clocked 2:52:10 hrs.

The junior team made up of Ara Wyatt (14), Edmund Postrzygacz (13) and Olivia Postrzygacz (14) had a superb race finishing in a time of 2:55:31 hrs ahead of many of the adults.

The prizegiving held on Sunday afternoon at The Edgewater Resort and Spa recognised the achievements of the 100 athletes, many of whom come year after year to compete in what is known as the friendliest triathlon.

Age Group winners were all celebrated and four of the athletes who completed the whole distance of 1500m swim/42km bike/10km run were over 70 years old.

The Cook Islands Triathlon Association would like to express their sincere thanks to all of the following who made the race on Saturday afternoon possible – their major sponsor  for the 30^th consecutive year Air New Zealand, as well as supporting sponsors The Edgewater Resort & Spa, BSP, Cook Islands Tourism, Ride Rarotonga, Vaima Water, The Bond Store and Island Car and Bike Hire, the landowners The Raina Family, Cook Islands Police, Roly Rolleston, Nikao Girl Guides, Puaikura Volunteer Fire Brigade, and all of the marshals who so generously gave their time to ensure the event was safe and successful.

The Hash House Harriers will host a run/walk for all from Betela at 5pm this afternoon, followed by a BBQ. Then the culmination of the week’s races will be the Ride Rarotonga Round Rarotonga Cycle Race, a fast and furious lap of the island which starts at 4.45pm on Tuesday from the BSP Bank in town. 

Road users are advised to use caution and be very vigilant as the riders will be cycling in large groups at high speeds. This will be followed by a wrap up dinner at The Edgewater Resort and Spa to close the week’s festivities.

• Lucy McDonald/CITAI