Jack Moody running to the finish line in the Loan Market Oceanside Tauranga Half at the weekend. Photo / Supplied
The Loan Market Oceanside Tauranga Half produced two outstanding elite races, with Auckland’s Jack Moody achieving a hat-trick of wins, and Rotorua’s Nicole van der Kaay notching her first win in the iconic multisport event.
The 37th running of the race drew outstanding fields, who competed in sunny conditions at Mount Maunganui.
Huge crowds lined the cafe-filled streets to support the athletes who took part in the various events on the Fulton Hogan Mount Festival of Multisport programme, with the likes of Hayden Wilde lining up at the start line.
The Loan Market Oceanside Tauranga Half provided an intriguing elite men’s race with little-known Taupō athlete Ivan Abele leading for most of the event, before being run down in the final couple of kilometres by two-time defending champ Jack Moody.
Moody is a renowned runner and had to call on all his experience and speed to haul in Abele, after trailing him by 6 minutes 39 seconds at the start of the run leg.
Moody was seventh on the swim leg this morning, a minute adrift of Lachlan Haycock and Ivan Abele as they came out of the water at Pilot Bay.
Abele then hit the pedals hard, being the quickest cyclist on the 90km bike leg, which incorporated the TEL Express Way.
Another athlete to make his move on the bike leg was current NZ IRONMAN champ Mike Phillips.
Heading into the run leg, Abele had a five-minute 10-second lead on Mike Phillips, with Jack Moody another minute and 29 seconds further back in seventh place.
Moody cut Abele’s lead in half at the mid-point of the 21.1k run leg before moving into the lead on the Mount Maunganui base track with a couple of kilometres of the race remaining.
Moody’s half marathon run time of 1:11:09 is staggering given that it followed a 2km swim, and 90km bike.
A jubilant Moody said after the victory: “It took me seven attempts to finally win this race, so to win three in a row is unreal. Ivan blitzed us on the bike today, and made it a tough day.
“I thought that I might be able to pull in a five-minute deficit but 6:39 minutes at the start of the run was a big challenge. It wasn’t until the second lap of the run that I was able to make real in-roads into his lead.
“I remember Cameron Brown used to make his move in this race around the base track, and that is where I was able to make it pay today.”
For Abele, finishing runner-up was a pleasant surprise.
After the race he said: “This is my debut at this mid-course triathlon distance so I didn’t really know what to expect. I loved it and am now keen to do more events at this distance.”
The Loan Market Oceanside Tauranga Half elite women’s race etched a new name into its storied roll call of winners, with Nicole van der Kaay winning in emphatic victory.
Van der Kaay was one of four athletes that emerged together from the 2km Pilot Bay swim, with the others being four-time race winner Hannah Berry, two-time race winner Rebecca Clarke and last year’s third-place-getter Hannah Knighton.
Van der Kaay, Berry and Clarke then rode most of the 90km bike leg together, before Berry made a small break at the end of the bike leg to start the run with a six-second advantage over van der Kaay.
The run leg was where van der Kaay showed her speed, developed through years of racing the Olympic triathlon distance at a high level, turning for the second run lap with a one-minute lead.
She extended her lead on the second lap of the run leg, to cross the finish line with a two-minute 50-second victory over Hannah Berry, with Rebecca Clarke rounding out the podium in third place.
Nicole van der Kaay was appreciative of the support she received throughout today’s race, saying: “It was perfect conditions today, and an amazing crowd. Hannah Berry and Becs Clarke were so strong, and pushed me really hard.”
This is the two-time Olympian’s fourth attempt at this distance, and her finest performance in long-distance triathlon to date. After today’s triumph, Nicole van der Kaay said: “Following the Paris Olympics in 2024, I decided to dabble in the longer stuff. It is a new challenge for me, and has re-ignited my love for the sport again.”
The Loan Market Oceanside Tauranga Half was the headline event for the Fulton Hogan Mount Festival of Multisport, which also featured the Iline Construction Aquabike event and the Waitoa Mount Festival Run over 5km, 10km and 21.1k distances.
The Waitoa Mount Festival Half Marathon assembled its best field ever. Top triathlete Kyle Smith took out the men’s race over highly accomplished distance runner Julian Oakley in a time of 1:11:27, while the women’s field was won by Auckland Marathon winner Brigid Dennehy, in a time of 1:16. The men’s race also featured 2025 T100 World Champion Hayden Wilde as the 1:20 pacer for the field.
Loan Market Oceanside Tauranga Half Results – Saturday, 17 January 2026
Distance 2km Swim 90km Bike 21.1km Run
Elite Men’s
Jack Moody 3:39:22
Ivan Abele 3:40:24
Mike Phillips 3:42:17
Lachlan Haycock 3:42:40
Sam Osborne 3:43:03
Elite Women’s
Nicole Van Der Kaay 4:04:29
Hannah Berry 4:07:20
Rebecca Clarke 4:13:02
Gabrielle Lumkes 4:14:25
Samantha Kingsford 4:16:20
iLine Construction Aquabike - Results
Distance 2km Swim 90km Bike
Overall Men’s
Fred Clatworthy 2:35:04
Stephen Sheldrake 2:37:40
Michael Glynne 2:43:50
Overall Women’s
Amanda Woodd 3:04:02
Deidre Lack 3:16:18
Elizabeth Hayes 3:18:19
Waitoa Mount Festival Half Marathon – Results
Overall Men’s – 21.1km Half Marathon
Kyle Smith 1:11:27
Julian Oakley 1:11:40
Lane Madsen 1:13:37
Overall Women’s – 21.1km Half Marathon
Brigid Dennehy 1:16:45
Arleah Tippins 1:16:57
Laura Nagel 1:18:30
Overall Men’s – 10.5km
Ryder Matthews 38:34
Ryan Shutte 38:46
Tom Allison 41:10
Overall Women’s – 10.5km
Bethany Bromfield 40:24
Hannah Bodle 43:43
Esme McClennan 44:22
Overall Men’s – 5km
William Kelsey 18:15
Liam Fort 18:26
Jesus Rubio 21:34
Overall Women’s – 5km
Olivia Sutherland 18:57
Ruby Needham 23:28
Shamay King 24:31
-Supplied content