Duathlon: World champion's win could be her swansong

By Suzanne McFadden

New Zealander Debbie Nelson won her first world duathlon championship yesterday - but it may well be her last.

The Christchurch accountant battled for over seven-and-a-half hours in constant rain in Zofingen, Switzerland, to win the title.

Her triumph, 18 minutes ahead of her closest rival, made her New Zealand's first woman world champion for 1999. She collected $23,800 for her efforts.

But her coaches back in New Zealand said yesterday that it might be 31-year-old Nelson's last crack at a world duathlon title.

Nelson, who topped the World Cup rankings last year, has finished third three times at Zofingen.

Scott Molina, who helped Nelson in her build-up, said it had been her career goal to win the event.

"Before she left for Europe, she said perhaps she would come home and call it quits if she won," said Molina, who has won at Zofingen.

"She said she would be very content to end on a high note."

Her multisport coach for the past few years, John Hellemans, said Nelson had mentioned that this could be her last year of international competition.

"It might be a nice way to finish her career - but then it's always difficult to end it when you've just won the world championships."

"Debbie is a lovely, unassuming athlete. She is such a hard worker, and she is very easy to coach. She really deserved this."

Nelson, who began her athletics career as a middle-distance track runner, consistently built on her lead through the gruelling 8.5km run, 150km bike and 30km final run.

Pre-race favourite German Susanne Niemeyer led the 21-woman field in the first run but was slow to get on her bike and Nelson took over the lead. Niemeyer later withdrew suffering from hypothermia.

After the undulating 150km bike ride, Nelson led a chasing pack of three, eventually winning by 18m 16s, from Czech Alena Peterkova and Ariane Gutknecht, of Switzerland, another minute back.

Molina said Nelson rang yesterday morning and spoke to his wife, former world triathlon champion Erin Baker.

"She rang to say hi and thank you. She was really elated," Molina said.

Taking a new approach to training this season, Nelson had spent some time in the new altitude simulator in Christchurch and turned to Molina for extra guidance.

"She had been having a bit of trouble with her food and drink intake, and she had been emphasising the long-distance training instead of horsepower. I think the change helped her a lot."

The men's title was won by Swiss athlete Olivier Bernhard - barred from competing in the New Zealand Ironman in March - who has been reinstated to competition after the Court of Arbitration for Sport overruled his positive drug test.

It was Bernhard's third world long-distance title, this time beating countryman Daniel Keller by 8m 35s.