Ironman: Brown down but Jo flows

Cameron Brown failed in his bid for a sixth consecutive New Zealand Ironman but Jo Lawn gave home fans something to cheer by winning the women's race.

Ainalar Juhanson won yesterday's weather-affected Ironman in Taupo. Racing over a significantly reduced distance, the Estonian beat Brown by 39 seconds.

Held over a 90km bike and 21km run instead of the full 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42km run, Juhanson produced the run of his life to hold off Brown with a winning time of 3h 31m 6s.

Organisers had to cancel the swimming due to high, gusting winds which were producing almost surfable waves on Lake Taupo. While athletes were disappointed, most agreed it was the best decision.

Juhanson, whose weakest sport of the triathlon disciplines is swimming, instantly benefited but said the swim would've been too dangerous: "It's an organiser's nightmare. It was the right thing to do."

New Zealand's Ironman is not the first to succumb to unfavourable weather conditions in recent years. In Utah in 2002, a competitor drowned during rough water conditions and Korea's edition also had to be shortened.

When the race finally got under way, it was in time-trial format. Athletes would set off on their bike leg every 30 seconds, with elite males starting first, followed by elite women. Race times were calculated once they had crossed the line.

Brown was first on the road and, aided by a terrific tailwind, was reaching speeds of 77km/h. Juhanson started a full minute behind Brown but 10km into the return leg towards Taupo had caught the defending champion.

Brown kept pace, though, being careful not to be caught drafting Juhanson as they battled the wind.

Fifth seed Kieran Doe, tipped as an outside bet, suffered mechanical failure after just 15km and had to withdraw. His day nearly didn't start at all as he crashed and suffered a minor head injury in the warm up.

Brown and Juhanson had no such difficulties. As they entered the transition together to begin the run, they held a huge lead over the remainder of the men's field led by Frenchman Gail Mainard and a flying Andrew Young.

Brown, whose forte is running, expected to blow away Juhanson over the half-marathon and soon opened up a small lead. To win, he needed to reach the finish over a minute ahead to record a race time faster than his opponent.

The imposing Juhanson, who stands 1.92m tall and weighs 97kg, was having none of it. He cut an impressive figure as he ran along the waterfront, keeping Brown well within his sights.

The heaviest ever Ironman champion (in 2005's Lanzarote edition) followed Brown down the spectator-packed finishing shute and punched the air in triumph as he crossed the line.

Young finished third in 3h 44m 19s, with Stephen Bayliss of Britain a further minute behind.

"When the swim was cancelled, it was better for me," said Juhanson. "Cameron was awesome though and I had to try 120 per cent."

Brown, whose Ironman build-up was hindered by injury, was pleased with his day: "I didn't think a big fellow could run so quick.

"I fought hard today and I'll come back next year and shoot for a sixth New Zealand Ironman title."

Lawn used her strength on the bike to record her fourth straight New Zealand Ironman title in 4h 10m 33s. The first elite woman to start the ride section, she built a comfortable lead of nearly five minutes before consolidating her position with a 1h 31m 46s run.

"Psychologically, that was the hardest race I've ever done," she said.

"The individual time-trial format was really difficult for me. I had no idea what was happening behind me. It was a real, honest race."

Another triathlete who benefited from the swim omission was Karyn Ballance, who finished second exactly four minutes behind Lawn. A fulltime podiatrist, Ballance was always trailing Lawn but her run time was significantly quicker.

"That was hard," said Ballance. "I don't know if that was because we had prepared for the full distance or what, but I loved it."

Australian Sarah Fien was third.

-HERALD ON SUNDAY