A strong Northland contingent will enjoy a golden opportunity tomorrow , when they line up at the ITU World Cup Series at Auckland's waterfront.
More than 30 nations will be represented at the event, which incorporates an age group selection race for the New Zealand World Championships team. Along with a world class field competing for qualifying points for the London Olympic Games in the men's and women's elite divisions, there will be the hundreds of "age-groupers", who need to place in their country's top 25 in their respective age groups to qualify for next year's ITU World Championships in Auckland, from October 14-22.
Whangarei 53-year-old Mike Gowing is among the many Kiwi age-group triathletes taking this opportunity to race virtually in their "backyard" in the hope of qualifying for the 2012 World Championships.
Gowing dabbled in triathlon in the 1980s and participated in the occasional one after that until Commonwealth Games and Olympian Sam Warriner encouraged him to compete in an age group race in New Plymouth in 2005.
"At that point I won my age group and qualified for the World Champs in Lausanne, where I placed ninth in the 45-49 age group," Gowing explained.
In 2008, Gowing placed third in the 50-54 age group at the Vancouver - his highest accolade at a World Championships, and he also contested the 2009 World Championships, at the Gold Coast.
Gowing, is racing in the 50-54 age group tomorrow, where he hopes to qualify for the worlds once again. But he will be joined by some impressive competition.
"It is great to finally have the old professional's racing in my age group - Rick Wells [former New Zealand Commonwealth Games swimmer], Scott Molena plus Steven Farrell and a few others will put me in my place," Gowing said.
The last time Gowing raced against Wells, who is making a "comeback" to the sport because the World Cup event is being staged in Auckland, was at the New Zealand Triathlon Championships in Auckland in 1984. Wells won in 1 hour 51.29mins, and Gowing clocked in 34 minutes later.
Around 20 triathletes from Northland will head to Auckland for the event, with most aiming to qualify.
"If they don't they will have been part of a triathlon event like they have never experienced before," Gowing said.
The 1.5km swim consists of two 750m laps alongside Queens Wharf. It will be followed by five laps of an 8km cycle course up Queen St and on surrounding CBD roads. The run is four laps of a 2.5km course along the waterfront.
The Northland contingent: Denise Limby, Rachel Edge, Jane Young, Christine Fraser, Sioux Campbell, DJ Gillming, Marion Maxwell, Brent Lewis, Aaron Taitoko, Robert Haynes, Mike Hardiman, Mike Gowing, Graeme McDonald, Chris Seeley, Mike Gillming, Jeff Cook (Also from Northland, living elsewhere Tom Andrews, Simone Ackerman, Nicky Samuels).