Crawford shows her consistency

RUNNER-UP: Gina Crawford, here with son Benji last year after finishing second in the Nutri-Grain Ironman New Zealand, has come second in the Cairns triathlon. PHOTO/FILE

World class Wanganui athlete Gina Crawford finished a clear second in the women's division of the Ironman Cairns triathlon behind three-time winner Australian Liz Blatchford last weekend.

Blatchford had built a big lead in the swim, but the eventual event winner was then told when exiting the water she'd been given a four-minute penalty for an infringement in re-entering the water for the second lap of the swim.

Blatchford sat and watched as her lead disappeared, allowing Crawford and recent Toyota Ironman Australia winner Michelle Bremer (also a Kiwi) to challenge.

However, Blatchford, the newly crowned "Queen of Cairns", regained her poise and purpose midway through the bike, going on to open an almost seven-minute advantage over Crawford at the start of the run.

That margin was never tested by her competition, with Blatchford winning in 9:11:08.

"I went so hard on that bike, I was a bit angry. I'm excited to now be a three-time champion here in Cairns," Blatchford said after her third straight victory in north Queensland.

The super-consistent Crawford finished in an equally emphatic second, nine minutes behind the winner in 9:20:56, with compatriot Bremer, backing up from her win at Port Macquarie, third in 9:22:51.

The winner made her mark, finishing 13th overall with Crawford 16th overall.

Prior to Cairns, Crawford had finished 34 iron distance races in just over seven seasons of racing. Of those finishes, she had 13 wins, nine seconds and two thirds (in German races Roth and Frankfurt). Twenty-four of the 34 were podium finishes.

Of the remaining 10 races, four have been top 10 finishes at Kona in Hawaii and the other six were 4th and 5th placings.