World podium eludes NZ pair
New Zealand triathletes Sam Warriner and Debbie Tanner finished just outside the top 10 at the world championships in Hamburg, Germany, yesterday.
Both had their best finishes at a world championship – the in-form Warriner was 11th, while Tanner was a spot away in 12th.However, neither was pleased with how they trailed the leaders by over a minute after the 1.5km swim leg.
It was a gap they could not claw back on the 40km bike and 10km run legs.
Warriner rued her decision to take the left-hand side of the swimming course.
"Really, it came down to one decision very early in my day," she said.
"I chose the wrong side on the swim and found myself getting pushed into a buoy – I was forced under and lost a lot of time.
"From that moment I was playing catch up, and worked really hard on the bike while at the same time concentrated on good position on the road to avoid a couple of crashes.
"I found my rhythm on the run and was running strongly by the second lap but, by then, it was too late."
Tanner at one point found herself inside the marker buoy, costing her time.
"In the mad scramble for the first buoy I got pushed under as the field came together on the same piece of water at the same time," she said. "When I looked up, I saw plastic and realised I was inside the buoy.
"I got out as quickly as I could without panicking and while I had lost a lot of time, I swam through plenty of athletes, which in hindsight is a great thing for my confidence with (the Olympics selection race in) Beijing a couple of weeks away."
Tanner said she and Warriner worked hard to close up on the bike but it was a hard course for anyone chasing.
"Once on the run, Sam and I set about catching as many as we could but we were just too far back to get on the podium today."
The race was won by world No. 1 Vanessa Fernandes, of Portugal, in 1hr 53min 27sec, from defending champion Emma Snowsill, of Australia.
Fernandes was never challenged after taking the lead early in the 10km run.
Of New Zealand's other athletes, Evelyn Williamson finished 46th and Dunedin's Taryn McLeod was a further two spots back.
The elite men will race today.
Selected results from the world triathlon championship in Hamburg, Germany:
Elite women: Vanessa Fernandes (Portugal) 1hr 53 min 27sec 1, Emma Snowsill (Australia) 1hr 54:31 2, Laura Bennett (United States) 1hr 54:37 3, Emma Moffatt (Australia) 1hr 54:54 4, Ricarda Lisk (Germany) 1hr 54:59 5.
New Zealand placings: Samantha Warriner at 2min 6sec 11, Debbie Tanner at 2:26 12, Evelyn Williamson at 6:51 46, Taryn McLeod at 6:55 48.