A SMALL contingent of Wairarapa athletes made a strong showing at the national duathlon championships held at Fielding on Sunday. Gavin Champion of Masterton placed fifth in the 35-39yrs men's age group with an overall time of 2hrs 12mins 52 s. Champion, who has also made his mark as a member ofthe Dalefield premier men's hockey side, completed the 10km run in 38mins 48secs, the 40km bike ride in 1hr 12min 27secs and the 5km run in 21min 37secs. The winner of this age group was Richard Day of Palmerston North in 2hr 3mins 35secs. Tom Porter of Masterton was third in the men's 50-54yrs age group with a time of 2hr 30mins 58secs. His individual efforts were 43min 46secs for the 10km run, 1hr 20min 18secs for the 40km bike ride and 27mins 4secs for the 5km run. First home in the age group was Richard Justice of Auckland in 2hr 19mins 1secs. Jesse Bucknell, of Greytown, is highly?ranked on the triathlon scene but showed duathlons were also within his compass by finishing strongly for sixth in the hotly-contested 16-19yrs age group. He finished the 5km run in 19min 28secs, the 20km bike ride in 33min 57secs and the 2.5km run in 10min 18secs for an overall time of 1hr 3mins 43secs. Title winner was Tama Christensen of Palmerston North in 58min 37secs. An ex-Wairarapa College student Andrew Leighton, who these days is at Otago University, placed third in the 20-24yrs men's event in 2hrs 9mins 54secs. His individual times were 37mins 42secs for the 10km run, 1hr 12mins 20secs for the 40km cycle and 19min 52secs for the 5km run. Winner of that section was Callum Millward of Havelock North in 1hr 58mins 32secs.
