Fresh faces at first tri

A number of new faces were seen at the first triathlon meet of the season at Tikioki on Saturday with 16 athletes completing the full course while many chose to cruise at their own pace.

There were no surprises in the final results and plenty of encouragement for the newcomers who enjoyed giving triathlon a go.

Tereora College PE teacher Vanessa Palmer stayed true to her nickname ‘Nemo’ emerging out of the 200m swim first with good friend and rival Kelly Pick hot on her tail.

Roland Neururer was the first man out of the water and third overall after the two ladies.

But Neururer picked off the girls in the 8km cycle and 2km run to win the first tri in 26.51.

Pick trailed Palmer on the cycle leg before outrunning her on the final run leg to come second in 28.01 with Palmer coming in 7 seconds later to take third place.

There were plenty of great times with all 16 athletes coming home under the hour mark.

Great times were also seen by those athletes who chose their own course distances on the day with Lotu Vea opting to swim 100m, cycle the 8km and run 2km to finish in 36.17.

Duathlon continues this week with the second triathlon of the season scheduled for next Saturday.

It’s never too late to give triathlon a go.