Multisport: Winning NZ team let opponents join them at the line

A team of New Zealanders competing in a gruelling adventure race shared first place with their American rivals after a competitor was killed by a falling boulder.

New Zealand team Seagate and American team Nike ACG crossed the finish line arm in arm after they paddled, trekked, scootered, biked and ran 640km in about 97 hours to win the Subaru Primal Quest race in the Pacific northwest of the United States at the weekend.

Seagate captain Nathan Fa'ave said the Kiwis didn't think they had a right to win after the death of Australian racer Nigel Aylott forced course changes and adjusted start times, disadvantaging the Americans.

"At the time of the accident, Nike had two hours on us, and the next day too," he said in an article posted on the Primal Quest website.

"It didn't seem sporting and it didn't seem fair. We hadn't had a great race, so if we'd won it wouldn't have felt like we'd deserved it," Fa'avae said.

"We would have crossed the finish line first, but that's not the style we like to win races in. When we were on the river we talked about it.

"We knew we were going to beat them - they're a top team - but when it comes to paddling there's a major difference, so we offered to share the race with them."

Mike Kloser, captain of Team Nike ACG/Balance Bar, said the tie reflected the adventure-racing spirit.

"We feel honoured to have been able to cross the finish line together, especially in view of Nigel's death."

The Australian had been leading the US$250,000 ($380,690) race but was killed last week when he was struck by a boulder in a rockfall.

Fa'ave and his team-mates, Kristina Anglem of Christchurch and Queenstown's Hadyn Key and Richard Ussher, looked certain winners after they quickly caught pacemaking Nike on the 88km paddle on the Skagit River.

Then Seagate only had a 17km portage - gear carrying - and 35km sea kayak to reach the finish on Orcas Island.

Canadian team Holofiber were third, 50 minutes behind Seagate and Nike, while Sole of the US were fourth.

New Zealanders Jeff Mitchell of Christchurch and Chris Morrissey and Neil Jones of Whakatane were fifth in their Merrell Zanfell team, while Silly Rabbits, with Napier's Lynn Helliwell on board, finished eighth.

The event was stopped when Aylott was killed and continued only at the request of his family and his AROC team members.

After the race Fa'avae boarded a seaplane to Seattle to catch a flight home, for the birth of his second child this week.

Quest for gold

The Primal Quest adventure race starts and finishes at Orcas Island, in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington state.

It comprises 17 legs, including:

266km mountain biking

27km skate/scootering

79km trekking

117km ocean kayaking

18km mountaineering

6km orienteering

16km ropes

87km river paddle

18km carrying gear




- NZPA, STAFF REPORTER