Triathlon: Athletes raring to go at Mt

WINNING FEELING: Last year's Tinman winner Leah Stanley is back to defend her title this Sunday.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

The Sovereign Tri Tinman at Mount Maunganui tomorrow morning is expected to attract a bumper field of more than 700 participants across all four events.

Tinman offers race distances for all abilities and backgrounds, from beginners to youth to serious age groupers and elites.

One of the traditional openers to the season, the Tinman has a history that dates back more than 25 years and boasts some of the greatest names in the sport on the honours role, with Hamish Carter, Cameron Brown, Walter Thorburn, Graham O'Grady, Karyn Ballance, Heidi Alexander and Nicole Cope all having won the event that takes in a run course around the base of The Mount before heading to the finish line at Pilot Bay.

A familiar name on the start line is former world champion Sam Warriner.

"This year has been a bit of a roller coaster for me. It started with a hamstring injury that first caught me at Tinman last year. Unfortunately it took longer to rehab than I'd hoped and wrote off all of last summer. This past winter we managed to get pregnant for our second child and Lola was all excited about being a big sister. I had made my mind up that I wouldn't race anymore and would focus on being a mum and coach so I let the training go and just nested to be honest. Unfortunately though September was a roller coaster, I miscarried at 14 weeks which knocked me and had to go into hospital.

"It's taken some time to come to terms with this and now I just want to race and have a bit of fun. I'm coming down to support my team. A lot of people will tell you that it's impossible to race and coach. To train with your athletes and coach at the same time. But since telling my girls I'll be doing the Olympic with them they've certainly taken it to another level in training."

Warriner will be there to support her growing army of Sweat 7 athletes, a number of whom have been successful in various events and distances this year including potential contenders this weekend in Jaimee Leader, Hannah Sturmer and Danielle Parkinson.

A strong advocate of the younger athletes, Warriner is especially pleased with the introduction of the Super Sprint Youth Series in conjunction with the Sovereign Tri Series.

Those to watch for in regards to line honours in the men's race include Matt Franklin (Auckland), Zac Barber (Christchurch) and Papamoa athlete Andrew Lloyd. In the women's race, look for defending champion Leah Stanley (Cambridge) in the mix with Sturmer, Warriner and Parkinson as the former elite rower continues her foray into the sport of triathlon.