Sam Osborne comes around the Mount base track on his way to winning the Marra Sprint Triathlon
Tauranga resident Sarah Backler put the final flourish to an outstanding local triathlon season when she won the women's Marra Sprint Triathlon event at Pilot Bay today.
Despite struggling on the 750m swim leg and giving Aucklander Francesca Stafford and Te Puke's Deidre Lack some clear space, Buckler surged to
the front on the 20km bike leg to lead by 30 seconds at the transition to the final 5km run leg.
"It was a tough bike for me because I had to catch up after the swim leg, and there was not a lot left in the legs for the run, and the run (around Mauao) is always tough," Backler said.
"I was happy to win. This is my home venue and one of the things that makes it is the crowd on the sideline cheering you on."
Rotorua-based Sam Osborne also gave his main rivals an early advantage in the men's race but stormed home to win well clear with Tauranga's Andrew Lloyd third.
