(Photo: Triathlon NZ; click photo to enlarge)
Whangarei triathlete Sam Warriner this morning won her 3rd 70.3 Half Ironman of 2010 in Racine, Wisconsin.
Warriner has now finished on the podium in her last 5 races in the United States and is fast becoming a 'marked woman' as she steam rolls her way toward the Ironman 70.3 World Championships in November.
Starting on the shore of Lake Michigan Sam lead the 1.9km swim from start to finish, exiting 15 seconds ahead of Kate Major of Australia, while fellow Kiwi Sarah Bryant was 17th but 7th of the professionals in the race.
Warriner knew she had to establish a lead heading onto the final run leg.
"It was a tricky swim because of the shallow depth you had to wade in until about 50m but then it got shallower again. I led a small group out of the water, I was pleased to lead but frustrated because they swam on my feet the whole way and I wanted to distance myself early from them. I rode very hard out of transition and within the first 10km I had put 30 seconds into the other girls and kept extending it throughout the bike.
"I rode out front all the way gradually extending my lead. It was a great fast bike course and I felt really strong on the bike to be honest. My cycling just seems to improve every time I race now. I'm becoming known as a strong cyclist where as when I raced ITU I was always the strong runner!"
Just last week in the Rhode Island 70.3 Kate Major had run down a 1 minute lead on an unwell Warriner to deny the Kiwi victory in sight of the finish line, it was an experience the gutsy Kiwi did not want to repeat having overcome her cold during the week as she established a 3 minute lead off the bike.
"I got into the second transition with a 3 minute lead. I knew I had to dig in hard as Kate Major is really running quick at the moment and won last week's Rhode Island 70.3 - I knew she'd be chasing me down again!
"I had a strong first lap and only gave up 2 seconds, however on the second lap the effects of being ill all this week started to show and I did fade a little toward the finish. With one kilometre to go Kate got within 20 metres of me but I surged and put my head down, with 400m to go I was sprinting and just giving it everything to hold off Kate. She never came back and I crossed the line in first. I was stoked to come back so strongly from being ill."
Sam now returns to camp in Los Angeles to build up to her first attempt at a full Ironman distance race on September 12th.
Results: Ironman 70.3 Racine, Wisconsin, USA
1.9km swim, 90km bike, 21km run
Pro Women
1 Sam Warriner NZL 4:17:42
2 Kate Major AUS 4:17:55
3 Desiree Ficker USA 4:22:51
Plus
17 Sarah Bryant NZL 4:57:51
