Crawford chases US veteran

RUNNER-UP: First woman home in the Port of Tauranga Half earlier this month, Wanganui's Gina Crawford had to settle for second to American Meredith Kessler in yesterday's Ironman 70.3 Auckland.PHOTO/FILE

WANGANUI mum Gina Crawford clawed her way into second to all- conquering American Meredith Kessler in the sun-baked Ironman 70.3 Auckland yesterday.

At one stage the classy 34-year-old athlete had the lead after Kessler suffered a few minor setbacks, but could not hold off the challenge from the determined American.

Kessler hails from California but has found New Zealand to her liking after securing a hat-trick of Ironman New Zealand titles in the past three years and she was delighted to clinch another major success on these shores in challenging circumstances.

"No race is perfect " it is often controlled chaos," admits Kessler who led the field by more than a minute after the swim.

"The bike was going wonderfully until 12km when I dropped my chain after hitting a bump and lost a few minutes. I had to try and keep calm while paddling frantically underneath. I lost the lead and had to concentrate on getting it back."

She managed to overhaul Crawford to stretch out to a lead a little over two minutes before facing another mishap when her shoes kept hitting the ground when pushing the bike through second transition forcing the classy American to pick up the bike to avoid losing time.

Kessler maintained her composure to run out the winner by 3:21.

"At the age of 36 I am at the pointy-end of my career and to gather as many of these titles as possible is really rewarding. Kiwi soil is good for me and I'm going to roll with it and hope it continues in Taupo [when Kessler bids for a fourth straight Ironman New Zealand title]."

Crawford had an unfortunate incident by the Harbour Bridge when her bike became trapped in a small ridge by the side of the road.

"I had to slow down and lost Meredith at that point - I didn't see her again," Crawford said.

"I was proud with how I performed I just didn't have that pace today to go faster than 1:26 [for the run]."

Her next big goal is also Ironman New Zealand.