Multisport: Ussher, Clark reign once again

Nelson multisport athlete Elina Ussher on her way to her seventh title. PHOTO/MAREE WILLS PHOTOGRAPHY

Nelson multisport athlete Elina Ussher has won her seventh Motu Challenge title in style in Opotiki.

Meanwhile, Sam Clark also grabbed his second title in the men's race on Saturday.

Both athletes dominated their opposition in the 21st edition of what many consider to be New Zealand's toughest endurance race.

The women's title was taken out by Ussher in a time of 8hr 24min 53sec, ahead of Rachel Cashin from Taumaranui.

In the men's event, Clark completed the 65km mountain bike, 17km run, 52km road cycle and 27km kayak in 7hr 29min 25sec, beating second place-getter Stu Lynch by 10 minutes.

The much-anticipated battle for the teams' title between Team Subway, featuring multisport legend Richard Ussher, and Team Thermal Chemistry, featuring Olympic kayaker Ben Fouhy, was won by Team Subway.

Subway's time of 6hr 50min 46sec was 14 minutes outside the 2001 record.

Race director Marty Madsen said he believed the record would have fallen with just a bit more water in the river.

"The river was at 1.5m this year and in 2001 the river was closer to two metres, and that makes a huge difference to the kayak split."

The Motu 160, which is a mix of road and mountain biking, had a much closer battle with 2013 champion Stephen Sheldrake first past the post in 4hr 45min 15sec, only 42 seconds ahead of Napier athlete Ben Earnshaw.

The women's race was won for the fourth consecutive year by New Zealand Olympic mountain biker Karen Hanlen (Whakatane).

The 2014 Motu Challenge marked the 21st anniversary of the big event.

It attracted a range of participants, from die-hard athletes to weekend warriors.

"We had a superb day," event manager Mike van der Boom said.

Alongside the original Motu Challenge, the Motu 160 cycling event saw a surge in numbers.