Braden Currie shows his emotion as he sets a new course record at the Port of Tauranga Half. PHOTO:ANDREW WARNER
Braden Currie shows his emotion as he sets a new course record at the Port of Tauranga Half. PHOTO:ANDREW WARNER
Braden Currie was confident he would defend his Port of Tauranga Half title.
But breaking the course record and finishing more than two minutes clear of 10-time winner Cameron Brown never entered his pre-race thinking.
Currie, 30, from Wanaka set a new mark of 3 hours 45 mins 38 secs, to break the time of 3:47:54 jointly held by Nathan Richmond (2006) and Graham O'Grady (2013).
Currie had a strong swim leg and set up the victory on the bike leg where he opened an unassailable lead on Brown and 19-year-old sensation Hayden Wilde in third.
"There was definitely wind out there and it was pretty interesting being solo on the bike that sort of made it a bit more of a battle. But it was surprisingly good actually," Currie said.
"I have been working a lot on my swim in the last year. I knew O'Grady was a good swimmer so I just set myself off him."
Currie was not sure if he could emulate multisport legend Brown's 10 titles.
"Winning eight more years? I don't know about that mate. He is a bit of a legend. You see him out there today just so strong, just so consistent. But who knows.
Amelia Rose Watkinson defends her title at the Port of Tauranga Half. PHOTO: ANDREW WARNER
"You watch guys like Hayden Wilde coming through at 19 years old. You know that guy when he gets some more endurance up..he definitely has plenty of speed and plenty of willpower to do it."
Wilde is from Whakatane but now lives in Tauranga, coached by Craig Kirkwood.
He never expected a podium finish in his first elite race at the event.
"I just wanted to come out and give it a go with the big guys. I wasn't coming out here to beat those guys at all. I have just been racing age group for my whole career for about three years and thought it was time to come up," Wilde said.
"It was just for me a learning experience and really wanted to give it a good push. I felt really good on the bike and waited for Cameron Brown to come past and hold onto him.
"I came out in transition ahead of him somehow. I felt really good about the 15k mark and then Cameron caught me. We stayed together on the second lap around the Mount and he got me on one of the hills and I thought 'that was me done'.
Port of Tauranga Half winner Braden Currie, centre, with second place Cameron Brown, left, and Hayden Wilde. PHOTO:ANDREW WARNER
"I was really happy to hold on to third place."
Wilde plans to give standard distance triathlon a real crack with the ultimate goal of making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
In the women's race, defending champion Amelia Rose Watkinson, 25, was never threatened at any stage, clearing away to win in 4:16:30, more than 2 minutes from second placed Julia Grant with Teresa Adam third.
"I managed to get a little bit of a lead off the bike which is always quite comforting when you're heading into a 21km run, especially around the back of the Mount where the pace can slow quite a lot and your legs start to get a bit tired," Watkinson said.
