Harrison Dean delighted the local crowd in winning the National Aquathlon Championships in his home town of Nelson today, out-running Marco van der Stel (Holland) in a close finish.
There was no such local success in the women's race as the Dutch triathlon squad dominating proceedings, with Rachel Klamer andMaaike Caelers finishing ahead of young prosptect Nicole van der Kay (Taupo) in third.
In the men's race, Dean quickly asserted his authority, running to an early lead of 27 seconds over Curtis and van der Stel in the opening 2.5km run leg around the Nelson CBD and the Trafalgar Centre. Van der Stel made his move in the 1km swim, pulling away to a 10 second lead, before Nelson local Dean had the legs to win by ten seconds inthe repeat run leg.
"My race plan was to get as far ahead in the first run and get away from Marco, because he is fast and as you saw he caught me up in the swim," Dean said. "But luckily I had built enough margin in the first run and was able to close it out, but we battled hard on the second run and I just managed to get there.
Klamer was the class athlete in the women's field, following runner-up finishes at the latest two rounds of the Contact Tri Series. After giving up a small lead to young Taupo flyer Nicole van der Kaay, Klamer dominated proceedings to win by 41 seconds.
"It is nice to win one and not be in second place," Klamer said. "I enjoyed the race today, it was a lot of fun. The second run felt better than the first run which surprised me. Swimming after a run wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."
Van der Kaay raced superbly to come home in third overall, a clear winner in her 16-17 age group and confirm her potential as a real prospect in triathlon for the future.
Results from the New Zealand Aquathlon National Championships in Nelson today:
Men: Harrison Dean (Nelson) 30:45, 1; Marco van der Stel (Netherlands) 30:55, 2; Tom Curtis (Great Britain) 31:59, 3; Jonathan Linyard (Nelson) 34:13, 4; Joe Thornton (Nelson) 34:44, 5
Women: Rachel Klamer (Netherlands) 32:35, 1; Maaike Caelers (Netherlands) 33:16, 2; Nicole van der Kaay (Taupo) 34:07, 3; Rachel Hamill (Hamilton) 35:27, 4; Lydia Hale (Tauranga) 36:17, 5
