The temperature was perfect for the 29th annual Tin Man Triathlon held on Saturday with the rain in the morning and cloud cover making it quite cool for racers.

Twenty individuals and 11 teams fronted up to tackle the 1200m swim, 31km (around the island cycle) and 10km run.

The lagoon looked calm, but had deceptive currents in parts, though this did not stop front runners Kelly Pick and Vanessa Palmer battling it out throughout the swim, with Palmer leading Pick out of the swim by 1 second.

Terry Meyer had a great swim, coming out just ahead of Roland Neururer, with Shannon Saunders right behind them.

The bike leg was tough with a strong headwind from Blackrock right through to Matavera, with Geoff Stoddart clocking up the fastest round the island time for the day in 50 minutes flat.

Neururer had the 2nd fastest time in 51.15 with team member Richard Vinsen clocking up 53.27.

The drop in temperature was evident in the fantastic run times seen on the day, with Neururer taking out fastest 10km run time in 40.46 and Kelly Pick hot on his heels in 40.58.

Terry Meyer belted out the 3rd fastest run in 43.09 with Rhys Woodger having a stellar run of 43.58.

First home this year was Roland Neururer in 1.53.19 which is the fastest time ever since 1990.

Kelly Pick again emerged the winner in the women’s race, shaving just over 4 minutes from her record time last year and setting a new female record of 1.53.43.

Third across the line and 2nd male was Geoff Stoddart in 1.57.21, with Vanessa Palmer taking out 2nd woman and 4th overall in 2.01.15.

Terry Meyer took out 3rd male and 5th overall in 2.02.23 and Ryhs Woodger clocked up an excellent time on his debut coming 6th overall in 2.10.28.

Third woman and 7th overall was Jennie George on a personal best of 2.11.51, with Antony Will reducing his time to come in 8th in 2.13.40.

Rangi Apera had a personal best time also, taking out 9th overall in 2.15.49. Rounding up the top 10 was Taki Anaru who finished in at 2.15.59.

Everyone had fantastic times in all disciplines and no doubt the 17th International Air New Zealand triathlon just 3 weeks away on May 7 will see some great racing!

Prize-giving followed with trophies to the first male and female with mention made of how Roland Neururer has battled it out over recent years to finally emerge the winner, and everyone was pleased to see it go to such a deserving triathlete and all-round great guy.

The top 3 males and females also received a bottle of wine and some big cheers, along with top team made up of Gareth Clayton, Mark Worthington and Hamish Weir who came in at 2.01.53 and a bottle of wine each for their tremendous efforts.

These guys clocked up great times overall with Gareth the 7th fastest swim time, Mark the 6th fastest cycle and Hamish the 5th fastest run of the day.

Our two junior swimmers Emily Barltrop and Ruby Vea also got a bottle of wine for mum and dad for their great efforts in the big swim for their respective teams.

Erin Matheson also received a bottle for her gutsy efforts over the season and for a fantastic race on her debut Tin Man.

Louise Wittwer was another recipient for her huge efforts over the season as well as shaving off 15 minutes from her best time, despite being 9 minutes slower in her swim!

Special mention also must be made to another junior, Anna Vinsen, who was in a team with dad Richard Vinsen, completing the swim leg as well as the 10km run leg!

A gutsy effort indeed!

Everyone had a fantastic day once again and put in some huge efforts which were evident in everyone’s times and the smiles at the finish line!

CITAI would like to pay special thanks to all our helpers on the day, especially Len Edwards and Terai Hill for the set up and time keeping, and safety kayakers Andy Olah and Tom Vea, Steve, Terry and Roland for setting up the buoys, our road marshalls and all the wonderful water stop ladies and men who gave smiles and encouragement to everyone.

Your efforts are hugely appreciated.

Meitaki maata.

See you all at the Big One on May 7 starting at 1.30pm from Ngatangiia rugby field in Muri, and it will be another big one with the second largest number of entrants in history!