Outstanding young athletes stepping up, mixed with international visitors were the features of the first event of the 2012-13 multisport calendar which attracted 135 athletes to Pandora Pond.
With the ITU World Triathlon Championships having been completed the weekend before athletes from the Netherlands, Great Britain and Canada turned up for the Shed 2 Triathlon and Duathlon Series Ice Buster on Sunday.
And it was two athletes from Great Britain who led the way in the Avanti Plus Hastings Triathlon (750m swim, 21km cycle, 4.5km run/walk).
In conditions which defied the event's cool name, Paul Ryman (Open) produced an astonishing time of 57 minutes 31 seconds to take out the race from teammate Iain Robertson.
Bridget Lodge (Open) continued her fine form in taking out the women's race in 1h 04m 58s from fellow world championship triathlete Emma Mackie.
There was a warning for the senior athletes however in the performances of the juniors, Jake Jackson-Grammer coming in at 1h 02m 06s ahead of Bradley Christison in 1h 02m 20s.
The only local ahead of them was Steve Charles (Open), fresh from the Auckland event, who came third.
This was Christison's first sprint race. A Year 8 pupil, he has already achieved national titles in triathlon, duathlon and cross country. At 13 he finished fifth overall in the men's division.
Next home was Vet 2 Ken Maclaren in 1h 03m 30s.
Brittny O'Hanlon took out the junior women's category ahead of Abbie Lochhead.
In the Swim Gym short course triathlon (200m swim, 14km cycle, 2km run/walk) it was girl power which won the day - Marie O'Connell first home in 42m 12s, followed by the first male, junior Lauchlan Cairns 39 seconds back. Another junior Olivia MacCauley finished a creditable fourth in 44m 43s.
Steve Motley took line honours in the Broker Webb Risk Services Duathlon in 1:03:34, while Lynne Morgan was first woman home in 1h 18m 12s.
Overall honours went to a team, The Bay Flyers, who flew home in 1h 00m 14s.
HBMSC Development Manager Brendon Lodge said, "It is great to see the young athletes coming through, with Bradley, Olivia, Lauchlan all being members of the HBMSC Youth Squad coached by Ken Maclaren and Ali Hollington."
The Bloke Free Triathlon Series starts at Farndon Park, Clive on Sunday. Registrations close today. Go to http://www.hbmsc.co.nz/ for more information.
A total of 30 Hawke's Bay triathletes competed in Sprint and Olympic events at the recent World Age-Group Championships in Auckland.
Ali Hollington brought home a silver medal in the women's Olympic 45-49 age-group, having collected a bronze in the Aquathon (1km swim, 5km run) earlier in the week. That gives her a full set of medals in 2012, as she won gold at the World Long Distance Championships in Spain earlier in the year.
Dave Johnson was the Bay's fastest performer in the sprint, while Anna Fuhrer was the quickest woman with a superb 8th place in the 20-24 division and 77th overall. Megan Watson also placed inside the top 100.
Jeremy Natusch was the first Bay triathlete home in the Olympic division, while Hollington also took line honours amongst a strong performing women's team. She was joined in the top 100 by Simonne Morris, Bridget Lodge, Annika Edmondson and Hayley Davis.
RESULTS
Sprint (750m swim, 20km cycle, 5km run)
1295 competitors, 747 men, 548 women
Male: Dave Johnson, age-group 30-34, 1 hour 13 minutes 41 seconds, 33rd in age-group (out of 76), 243rd men's overall; Ian Horsefield, 40-44, 1:15:02, 47th in age-group (out of 86), 302nd overall; Bruce Lochhead, 50-54, 1:17:31, 27th in age-group (out of 82), 372nd overall; Mark Riddell, 50-54, 1:18:27, 33rd in age-group (out of 82), 406th overall; Ant Maney, 45-49, 1:20:20, 59th in age-group (out of 82), 458th overall; Steve McKain, 40-44, 1:20:34, 69th in age-group (out of 86), 468th overall; Tim Jardine, 45-49, 1:26:59, 73rd in age-group (out of 82), 570th overall;
Female: Anna Fuhrer, 20-24, 1:18:49, 8th in age-group (out of 31), 77th women's overall; Megan Watson, 16-19, 1:19:25, 28th in age-group (out of 48), 93rd overall; Vicky Fuhrer, 50-54, 1:36:24, 43rd in age-group, 405th overall; Sandra Kappely, 60-64, 1:59:28, 23rd in age-group (out of 30), 505th overall;
Olympic (1500m swim, 40km cycle, 10km run)
1594 competitors, 908 men, 686 women
Male: Jeremy Natusch, 30-34, 2:16:13, 33rd in age-group (out of 100), 179th men's overall; Steve Charles, 25-29, 2:17:59, 53rd in age-group (out of 93), 223rd overall; Mike Bond, 45-49, 2:27:01, 51st in age-group (out of 101), 394th overall; Glenn Yule, 50-54, 2:31:37, 46th in age-group (out of 104), 490th overall; Geoff Martin, 60-64, 2:49:13, 29th in age-group (out of 62), 659th overall; David Dicks, 60-64, 3:03:35, 40th in age-group (out of 62), 744th overall; Phil Shambrook, 55-59, 3:14:10, 68th in age-group (out of 84), 778th overall; Jeff Cook, 60-64, 3:27:36, 55th in age-group (out of 62), 796th overall;
Female: Ali Hollington, 45-49, 2:24:38, 2nd in age-group (out of 79), 36th women's overall; Simonne Morris, 40-44, 2:27:04, 6th in age-group (out of 81), 53rd overall; Bridget Lodge, 25-29, 2:27:34, 15th in age-group (out of 83), 61st overall; Annika Edmondson, 25-29, 19th in age-group (out of 83), 70th overall; Hayley Davis, 30-34, 2:28:20, 13th in age-group (out of 98), 71st overall; Emma Mackie, 25-29, 2:35:48, 40th in age-group (out of 83), 168th overall; Ann Robottom, 50-54, 2:54:44, 31st in age-group (out of 80), 437th overall; Louise Shambrook, 50-54, 3:17:52, 64th in age-group (out of 80), 567th overall; Karen Taotahi, 50-54, 3:21:57, 70th in age-group (out of 80), 584th overall; Sherry Majors, 55-59, 3:28:20, 40th in age-group (out of 51), 599th overall; Julie Boshier, 65-69, 3:28:50, 5th in age-group (out of 12), 602nd overall.
James Bell and Naomi Fergusson were late withdrawals due to injury.
Crestfallen Hastings Boys' players were 'pretty emotional' about the incident, says coach.