She finished a stunning third on debut but Janine Sax won't be bidding to climb higher up the podium at next week's Port of Tauranga Half after spending the weeks leading up to Christmas bedridden.
Sax, 30, has flown back to Las Vegas from Thailand following her ninth place finish at the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championships in Phuket but is in no shape to do anything but rest after being struck down by a mystery illness.
The Mount Maunganui triathlete had planned to be on the start line next Saturday, where she was one of 14 women in the pro field, following last January's third place effort behind Jo Lawn and Anna Cleaver but has reluctantly withdrawn.
"It appears I ingested some sort of bacteria in Phuket on the day of the [70.3] race. After not being able to keep any food in my body for five days [post-race] I ended up having to go to Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok.
"I'm lucky to have been on a break and not have any major races on at the moment. I haven't swum, biked nor run since the Asia-Pacific Champs and have been on seven different types of medication," Sax said.
She flew back to Las Vegas from Thailand and hoped to begin training again this week for the Abu Dhabi International triathlon, one of the world's richest races over 3km (swim), 200km (bike) and 20km (run) that carries US$250,000 ($323,000) prize money.
Meanwhile, Northland's Sam Warriner is also rumoured to have withdrawn because of illness. She was to line up in Tauranga undecided about a comeback to Olympic distance triathlon,
Warriner, who turned 40 this year, would have arrived in town in record-breaking form after her 4:24.37 effort at the Taupo Half Ironman, slicing 10 minutes off the old mark.
The two-time Olympian and winner of the Port of Tauranga Half two years ago has been competing at the longer 70.3 and Ironman distances since the end of the 2008 season when she was the overall International Triathlon Union World Cup winner.
With two places still available on the New Zealand women's team for London, she is still weighing up another crack at the 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run.
"I really don't know which way to head. I'm not prepared to make a decision yet, but I'm enjoying being back racing [shorter distances]. I'm wondering what the qualifying standards are. I might have a go."
Warriner would have to compete at the ITU world championship series event at Sydney in April. Triathlon New Zealand (TNZ) wants a male and female athlete to get top-eight results at that event to qualify for a spot before they resort to selecting on the basis of discretion.
Andrea Hewitt is the only New Zealand name inked in for the Olympic team so far, on the back of her sixth at the London world championship series event in August. Warriner says depending on TNZ's strategy, she'd be prepared to be a team player for Hewitt.Kelly Exelby