There was another great turnout of competitors for Race 12 of the Takapuna State beach series. A spectacular evening drew the crowds in on Tuesday night with a light Sou' westerly to suit competitors on the sand and in the sea.
North shore youngster Jackson Cropp controlled the fleet from the front in the 1.5km ocean swim. The extra 500m didn't affect the prominent swimmer as he took the win comfortably in 18m 20". Nick Berry finished second with Sean Newcombe back in third.
Triathlete Torrenzo Bozzone used the swim as training preparation for the upcoming Iron Man Triathlon in Taupo. Bozzone finished 5th.
NZ lifesaver Kirtsy Wannan made this her 8th win of the series covering the 1.5km swim in 18m 43". Johanna O'Connor finished closely behind in second while Brenda Russell was placed third.
The race of the night had to be the 3km Stand up paddle boarding event with NZ windsurfer JP Tobin, his training partner Dorian van Rijsselberge and NZ Standup paddle boarder Troy Huston all competing for the top spot. It was a fight to the finish line with all three competitors finishing within seconds of each other. Dutchman Dorian van Rijsselberge took first place in 17m 46", 1 second ahead of JP Tobin followed by Troy Huston back in third.
Nick Sutherland ran strongly in the men's 5km race finishing comfortably in first place with a time of 16m 53". Grant Schofield finished second with Kostya Selesnev back in third. In the Womens event Tara La Grange looked unstoppable as she upped the pace in the final lap to win in 19m 19" 33 seconds ahead of Grace Mason with Tessa McNair back in third.
In the surf ski paddle Mike Walker won the men's while Dene Simpson won the women's event.
