London-bound Kate McIlroy and Nicky Samuels both came away with impressive results at the latest round of the ITU World Triathlon Series in Hamburg, Germany this morning.
Wellington's McIlroy battled hard in her last hit out before the Olympics to secure 8th place while Samuels used the event to test some race options and finished 15th. Olympic reserve Debbie Tanner also finished mid-field in 25th position.
The third member of the New Zealand Olympic women's triathlon team, Andrea Hewitt, opted not to race in Hamburg and remains at her training base in Sete, France.
McIlroy was pleased with her performance less than two weeks out from the women's Olympic race.
"I was really happy with my race overall today and I wanted to have a really solid hit out. One of my key focuses was to have a good swim and to come out in the lead group which I did," she said.
"I had a good strong run, it was fast but I was happy with how I went. The field was good today, a few key athletes for London were missing but it still gives me a lot of confidence. Of course it's all geared towards winning a medal and that's what I've been training for."
Meanwhile, Samuels used the Hamburg race to test out some different things which will ultimately make her stronger in London.
"I had a strong swim and worked on the bike early but it didn't quite go to plan. My plan in the first kilometre of the run was to go at max and see if I could recover. It didn't really work out so the rest of the run was quite hard," Samuels said.
"The result didn't matter it was just about trying things and seeing what will work and what won't in London. Training is on track, I've done all the hard yards so it's all about freshening up and working hard on the run."
While not racing in Hamburg, Hewitt still kept an eye on the results from afar and said she was looking forward to another fast race in London.
"I decided I wouldn't race in Hamburg, I'd keep training and get everything 100 percent before I go to London. I went for a run during the race but I saw the results after, all the girls ran really fast. A lot of races have sprint finishes now so I'm trying to prepare for that and I know London will be a fast race so I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Triathlon New Zealand National Coach Greg Fraine said the women came through the race very well and were able to try out some tactical options that may be important during the Olympic event.
Fraine said the Hamburg race was ideally placed less than two weeks out from London, and it served as a transition from general build-up to becoming solely focussed on the Games.
"Everyone came through really well, Nicky and Kate were impressive today. Nicky was experimenting with some race options and Kate wanted a good hard blowout before London.
"One of the things we try and encourage is decision making and that's something all three Olympic athletes are good at is assessing the situation and reacting. They're all on track, the confidence is good and they're looking forward to the challenge."
For more information and full results, click here.
Results: ITU World Triathlon Championship, Hamburg, Germany
Sprint (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run)
Elite Women
1. Erin Densham (AUS) 56:07
2. Emma Moffatt (AUS) 56:19
3. Sarah Groff (USA) 56:21
4. Anne Haug (GER) 56:35
5. Kate Roberts (RSA) 56:40
Plus Kiwis
8. Kate McIlroy (NZL) 56:56
15. Nicky Samuels (NZL) 57:22
25. Debbie Tanner (NZL) 57:56
