Off-road triathlon: Strong showing from Shaw in Hawaii

WORLD CHAMPS: Rotorua triathlete Olly Shaw has finished 12th at the world champs. PHOTO/STEPHEN PARKER

Rotorua triathlete Olly Shaw has finished 12th at the Xterra World Championships in Hawaii.

The Xterra World Championships is the biggest off-road triathlon event in the world and was staged yesterday morning in Hawaii.

Shaw, 23, finished 12th overall during the race which includes a 1.5km swim, a 32km mountain bike and a 10.5km trail run.

Another professional triathlete from Rotorua, Sam Osborne, also took part but did not finish the race despite a strong start.

He had equipment problems during the bike leg which ruined his chances.

Shaw finished in a time of 2h 51m 33s which was about 16 minutes behind the winner Josiah Middaugh (USA).

Fellow Kiwi Braden Currie (Wanaka) had an impressive race to finish second while last year's world champion Ruben Ruzafa (Spain) came third. Currie also won the Xterra New Zealand race held in Rotorua earlier this year.

The women's title went to Flora Duffy (Belgium) followed by Lesley Paterson (UK) in second.

Rotorua young gun Lewis Ryan was racing in the 15-19 age group, the same age group he finished third in last year. He was seventh in the age group and 75th overall.