Florida Ironman 2007

New Zealand Ironman Bryan Rhodes ( Taupo ) has placed 3rd overall at today's Ford Ironman Triathlon held in Florida USA.

Held at Panama City Beach , Florida this race attracts over 3,000 entrants who compete over the full Ironman distance .. 3km swim..180 km bike..42 km run add in hot humid conditions and you have one of the most competitive Ironman races held.

Rhodes in August was leading the UK Ironman event by 12 minutes on the run when his calf muscle pulled and he had to walk the remainder of the race finishing 20 th. In 2005 he won that event and last year the day prior to the race was knocked off his bike by a truck and had to with draw. After this years race he sat around in front of the TV and played X Box at his training base Schaffhausen , Switzerland .

After four days his coach Graham Park ( New Plymouth ) rung him and said to his charge.."right you are hurting , Im hurting just as much, so you are doing Ironman Florida in nine weeks time and will make amends there .."

Rhodes two days later had booked flights & packed his bags , bike and went to Boulder , USA to altitude which would not only speed up the healing process but Park a great advocate of altitude training felt he also needed to have the right medical personal on hand to monitor the recovery & healing of his injury along with altitude based training. After two weeks of just swimming and cycling twice a day Rhodes was also in the pool aqua jogging with still doubts. Mid September he was running up to a hour on trails and prior to race day managing 2 hour runs every second day without any concerns.

Concern was had he done enough running and had his August run fitness held enough for an Ironman just 2 months after having just done one ? Critics comments fell on deaf ears.

Come race day Rhodes lead out of the 3.8 km swim in a time of 49 minutes 2 seconds , on the flat and fast bike course of 180 km he came into transistion 2 with a bike time of 4 hours 37 minutes and 3 seconds..onto the 42 km marathon run he was in 9 th overall for most of the race , at 5 km to go he moved into 4th and then put in a gutsy run performance and ran up into 3 rd overall...in a time of 8 hours 26 minutes 52 seconds.

Overall winner was Sydney Olympic Games Triathlon silver medalist Stephan Vuckovic ( Germany ) who beat the course record by one second in a time of 8 hours 23 minutes 49 seconds.

The last word...he is the master motivator, what he says is often profound and has the effect of making you think a little about yourself...Rhodes on Coach G Force

For a full set of results www.ironmanflorida.com

September 2007

Tama Christensen has won the 2007 ITU World Junior Age Group Championships at Hamburg Germany held on the 2nd September.

Tama was placed 3rd out of the 1.5km swim leg then soon took the lead on the 40 km bike with a lead of one minute over his nearesr rival. On to the 10 km run the 19 year old with no pressure coming from the German triathlete in second palce he took his lead to another 3 minutes to win by four minutes..

Along with Coach Graham Park ,Tama has been training at the Triathlon New Zealand Elite Training Camp near Limoux in the south of France.

On route to the France Base Tama finished 5th at the USA Triathlon Sprint Triathlon National Championships , Denver , Colorado.

Held over the shorter 750 mt swim - 20 km bike - 5km run...Coach Park expected Tama would place well but had reservations too, as this was straight after leaving his training base New Plymouth, which was in the midst of winter, to a very hot summers day in Colorado and at 5000 mts in altitude..so to top 5 was a indication that with 3-4 weeks training with fellow NZ Elite & Junior Elites at the hotter France Base his young charge was going to have a great World Championships.

Hamburg produced a normal NZ mid wintery day and conditions either way Christensen was well prepared and to win by such a commanding margin indicates a very promising future for this new Triathlon World Champion.

15 August 2006

FYI...three podium placings in three countries ..Germany , Austria and Mombassa..

Another podium on weekend .....at Keil German DTU Triathlon .....Janina place 2nd so well done .Coach G

14 August 2006

New Plymouth triathlete Hamish Johnson has placed 2nd Elite Male the ITU Mombassa International Triathlon held in Kenya on Sunday 13 August...

Johnson had a 5th placing in May at the ITU Manilla Traithlon along with two 10 th placings at the ITU Tazo Italy and ITU Singapore International Triathlons. He now qualifies for the Triathlon New Zealand High Performance Carded Athlete Programme...the new intake is later in the year.

Opting not to race at this years ITU World Age Group Championships, Lausanne
on advise from Coach Graham Park ..Johnson competed at ITU races to gain ITU ranking points and meet the qualifing criteria of two top five finishes..

Spending six weeks travelling and training with fellow New Plymouth Triathlete Shanon Barnett both athletes got to visit Coach Park who is with Clark Ellice ( New Plymouth ) who is training in preparation for his debut in the Elite New Zealand Team for the ITU World Championships at the Triathlon New Zealand Elite Training Base Camp in Limoux , France.

Johnson who works fulltime as a physio at Bounce Back was impresssed with the Tri NZ Camp Base and managed to train under Coach Park and other top Elites at a few training sessions..

" To be part of the Base next year I believe will offer me greater opportunities to do more European ITU International races...the goal is to be selected for ITU World Cup events in Europe .." Johnson returns home to New Plymouth and will prepre for the first race in the new Nine Race Triathlon Series starting off in his home town New Plymouth on 11th November...

26 June 2006

New Zealand triathletes Clark Ellice and Bryan Rhodes enjoyed podium placings in international races over the weekend.

Ellice finished second in the San Sebastien international triathlon in Spain while across the Atlantic, Rhodes finished second in the Med Express Mountaineer Half Ironman in the USA.

Ellice (New Plymouth) continued his fine form as he chases a spot in the New Zealand elite team for the ITU World Championships in August. After a strong swim Ellice was overtaken by two Spanish athletes on the mountainous bike course.

The 23-year-old, 1min 30sec behind off the bike, produced an excellent 31:01 split for his 10km run to finish just five seconds behind the winner.

His coach Graham Park said while Ellice was disappointed he could not quite achieve the win, he was happy with another strong performance.

It was a good return to form for Rhodes who was forced out of the Eagleman Half Ironman two weeks ago when he was hit by a jetski during the swim.

He led out of the 2km swim in 26:44 before he was overtaken by in-form Australian Chris Legh on the 90km bike.

The Taupo triathlete dug deep over the 21km run to retain his second spot, a pleasing result as he builds for the Ironman World Championship in October.

Rhodes now leaves for France to train at the Trathlon New Zealand training base in Limmoux, France.

Olympic heros in form for Commonwealth Games at Triathlon New Zealand National triathlon Championships..

Clark Ellice placed 3rd Elite male and Shane Reed 4th in the re match of Docherty and Carter at the 2006 Triathlon New Zealand National Championships , Kinloch 5th February.

Both triathletes Ellice and Reed along with 7th placed Ritchie Cunninham are coached by New Plymouth based Triathlon NZ High Performance Coach Graham Park.

Im really over the moon for Clark and Shane on this performance against Bevan and Hamish who are along with England's Stuart Hayes are peaking for the 2006 Commonwealth Games Melbourne in March..Reed is the reserve for the NZ Team.

Park was very proud of his proteges who havent even began any speedwork and considers the 2006 ITU World Championships, Lausanne , Switzeraland the main peak race for Ellice and Reed.

Athens silver medalist Bevan Docherty edged out Olympic champion Hamish Carter to win the Contact Energy National Triathlon Championships near Taupo. The pair hit the front midway through the 10km run with Docherty out-sprinting Carter in the final straight in front of his
hometown crowd in idyllic conditions at Kinloch.

New Zealand's Commonwealth Games team enjoyed a strong hit-out ahead of next month's race in Melbourne with Whangarei's Samantha Warriner winning the women's title. Her Melbourne-bound team-mate Andrea Hewitt was second with Canadian Jill Savege third. Taranaki's Clark Ellice finished third in the men's race along with Shane Reed 4th..

Docherty, Carter, Warriner and Hewitt were all pleased with their performances six weeks out from the Commonwealth Games race. It was a hoot to win in front of my hometown crowd and my main sponsors,'' Docherty said. ``It was pretty awesome today. But I am not getting too carried away. The aim is six weeks aware and I still have a lot to do. Hamish and I key off each other and we both had a solid race.''

Canadian Colin Edwards and Gisborne veteran Stephen Sheldrake tested the talented field when they pushed clear on the three-lap 40km bike, opening up a 1min 30sec advantage.

Carter and Docherty were well positioned in the main chase pack and hauled back 40 seconds on the first of four laps on the 10km run around the scenic lakeside settlement.

They were joined by defending champion, 23-year-old Ellice (New Plymouth) as they hauled in the Canadian midway through the run, with the Olympic heros going head to head before Docherty out-kicked Carter for the win.

``The pace was quite weak on the bike today and Hamish and I were hauling them through in the end. I just played a waiting game on the run and sat on Hamish.

``It's superb to win at home and good to be back in good form. Now I have really got to hurt myself in the next few weeks and have to rise up another level to be competitive in six weeks time.

Carter, in his first race since placing fourth in the world championships in September, was pleased with his effort.

``I am further ahead than I thought. It's hard to know just where you are at in training and so overall I am really pleased,'' Carter said. ``That first race back is always hard. I felt quite strong on the bike and the run and I think I am well set up six weeks out. I don't usually run that well in my first race. It's pleasing.''

Warriner joined Hewitt (Christchurch), Melbourne reserve Nicky Samuels (Whangarei) and Savege in a breakaway pack on the bike. They opened a five-minute lead over the chasers.

Warriner, the world No 7 ranked triathlete, broke clear early on the run to win in 2:04.17, more than a minute clear of world under-23 champion Hewitt with Savege 150m back in third.

``That was solid. It was okay. I was not that happy with my swim start but the four of us worked well together on the bike,'' Warriner said. ``I'm pleased overall with six weeks to go although I need to lift my game to another level if I am to challenge the Aussies in Melbourne.

``Andrea had a good race and if we can work together like this in Melbourne anything could happen.''

Wellington's Martin Van Barneveld (Wellington) and Anna Hamilton (Auckland) won the elite under-23 title while William Curtayne (Auckland) and Oceania under-23 champion Rebecca Spence (North Harbour) won the under-19s.

Triathlon New Zealand run national titles for all elite and age group divisions, with the professionals chasing a record prize purse and the organisation using the event to unveil their new branding.

Results:
Elite Under-19(750m swim 20km bike 5km run)
Male: William Curtayne (Auckland) 58:05, 1; Thomas Hahn (Auckland) 58:09, 2; Andrew Curtayne (Auckland) 58:37, 3; Ross Smith (Christchurch) 58:47, 4; Tony Dodds (Wanaka) 59:10, 5.
Women: Rebecca Spence (Auckland) 1:03.07, 1; Kate Mitchell (Auckland) 1:09.19, 2; Bailey Elliott (Gisborne) 1:09.56, 3; Anna Walker (Kaipoi) 1:10.00, 4; Tracey Steens (Tauranga) 1:10.38, 5.
Age Group (1.5k swim 40k bike 10k run):
Men: David Plew (Christchurch) 2:00:45, 1; David Stutz (Tauranga) 2:02:16, 2; Walter Thorburn (Auckland) 2:03:02, 3; Paul Westwood (Rotorua) 2:03:30, 4; Duncan Milne Taupo 2:04:20, 5; Hamish Johnson (New Plymouth) 2:05:02, 6; Henry Barfoot (North Shore) 2:06:35, 7; Robert Dallimore (Auckland) 2:07:13, 8; Shannon Barnett (New Plymouth) 2:07:22, 9; Guy Crawford (Auckland) 2:08:06, 10.
Women: Vicki Jones (Wellington) 2:14:51, 1; Marina Fowell (Whakatane) 2:17:48, 2; Julia Grant (Ashburton) 2:19:05, 3; Annie Oliver (Tokoroa) 2:19:44, 4; Fleur Bromley (Taupo) 2:20:34, 5; Karina Brown (Christchurch) 2:20:48, 6; Felicity Wilson (Wanganui) 2:21:15, 7; Kate Barker (Taupo) 2:21:56, 8; Danielle Montague (Auckland) 2:21:57, 9; Jacinda Papps (Wellington) 2:22:10, 10.

FULL RESULTS: www.triathlon.org.nz

29 January 2006

Reed comes from behind to win Leppin Half Ironman

New Zealand's Shane Reed came from five minutes down off the bike to win the Leppin Half Ironman Triathlon in Auckland yesterday.

Reed, who has recently moved to New Plymouth from Queensland, impressed on the 21km run to win comfortably by more than six minutes from England's Stephen Bayliss with Gisborne's Stephen Sheldrake third.

American Kristie Gough won the women's title in a race record 4hr 50min 43sec, finishing 11 minutes ahead of of 2004 winner Bianca Simpson, the US-based Kiwi, with Tauranga's Annie Oliver third.

Sheldrake and Auckland's Kieran Doe pushed clear of Reed after coming out of the water together in the 2km swim at Maraetai to open a five minute advantage over the testing terrain on the 90km cycle to Kaiaua and back to Kawakawa Bay.

Doe withdrew after cramping in the searing heat on the second of three laps on the bike while Reed hauled in Sheldrake on the second lap to win comfortably in 4hr 09min 17sec. Bayliss, preparing for Ironman New Zealand on 4 March, pipped Sheldrake late on the run for second.

Sweden's Clas Bjorling was fourth ahead of Auckland's Mat Brick.

It was a good start to the year for Reed, the former world swim-run champion, who moved from Queensland to be closer to coach Graham Park. He will compete in next weekend's national championship in Kinloch as he prepares for another international season including the ITU World Cup Circuit and world championships in Lausanne.

Gough, Bjorling's partner, proved very strong on the bike, opening up a telling advantage to win impressively while Simpson was well clear in second ahead of Oliver, with top seed Bella Comerford (Scotland) pulling out on the run.

Comerford, a three time winner of Ironman Florida, has just completed an arduous training camp in the South Island as part of her preparations for Ironman New Zealand.

Leppin Half Ironman triathlon results:

Male: Shane Reed (New Plymouth) 4:09.17, 1; S Bayliss (UK) 4:15.40, 2;
Stephen Sheldrake (Gisborne) 4:17.08, 3.

Female: Kristie Gough (USA) 4:50.43, 1 (race record); Bianca Simpson
(US-based NZL) 5:02.11, 2; Annie Oliver (Tauranga) 5:17.50, 3.

Taranaki Coach of the Year 2005

Graham Park was named Taranaki Coach of the Year for the second year running at the Taranaki Sportsperson of the Year Awards in New Plymouth on Friday night 18 Nov 2005.

According to the Taranaki Daily News, Park is making a name for himself as a top high-performance coach. Several of his athletes have featured nationally and internationally, with Shane Reed's wins this year including the Obernai international triathlon in France. Reed has also had three top-ten ITU World Cup placings.

Another of Park's athletes, Tammy Reed (nee Kendall), won her age group at the world duathlon champs.

Wed 16 Nov 2005

New Plymouth triathlete Shane Reed has won the first race of the Stroke n Stride Series held in Auckland this evening. .Reed who raced in the weekends ITU New Plymouth World Cup Triathlon was happy to take out the first race of the series - he sufferred stomach pains in the ITU World Cup race and said it was a case of jumping into the bushes and letting it go or just hang on - with so many cameras around he took the hang on atitude. Tonights race was a final hit out before Coach Graham Park gives his charge a two week rest. Shane and wife Tammy are off to Samoa tuesday for a break.

Park meanwhile leaves New Plymouth thursday evening to attend the World Class Elite Triathlon Coaches Conference in Loughborough , England. Park was awarded a Prime Ministers Coaching Scholarship last month - I was given a $10.000.00 Scholarship , it is to up skill my coaching and I will be attending the Conference and visting High Performance Centres in Swansea and Bath and looking at possible training bases in France for next years ITU World Championships to be held in Lausanne.

New Plymouth triathlete Jeff Mc Grath today competed in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championships finishing 120 th overall in a impressive time of 9 hours 26 min2 53 secs... Mc Grath took over 13 minutes off his 2005 Taupo Ironman time .With the conditions far more harsh in Hawaii the New Plymouth policeman is rapt with his result which he can be truly pleased with given three weeks ago he had tonsilitis and lost over two weeks of training. Mc Grath's finish time placed him 18 th overall in his age group....Coach Graham Park praised his charge efforts "Crusty was working shift work , has two young children and his wife also a member of the police force ... finding the right balance between family work and training for a Ironman in a New Zealand winter doesnt appeal to the average NZ male...he has done himself and family very proud....."

for results
www.ironmanlive.com

4 Oct 2005

New Plymouth Triathletes today competed at the ITU World Aquathon Championships , Hawaii and all placed in the top ten in there respective age groups. Ben Riley was 1st in the 16 - 19 age group, Shanon Barnett 6th , Hamish Johnson 8th and Kyle Bridgman 9th in the 20 - 24 age group. Darren Scott was 8th in 25 - 29 age group and Iain Dow was 4th in the 40 - 44 age group. The aquathon was held on the course for the ITU World Championships to be held on Sunday ( monday nz time ). The event was a 2.5 km run, 750 mtres swim and a 2.5 km run. Coach Graham Park was pleased that all of his squad placed in the top 10 in there respective age groups and would be more than happy with similar results on Sunday. Results www.honolulu2005.com

Taupo based triathlete Bryan Rhodes just two weeks after his historic victory at the UK Ironman has placed third at the UK Half Ironman , Longleat England on the weekend. For Rhodes it was another podium finish in what has been an amazing season of top podium finishes in Ironman and Half Ironman races .Rhodes who has been based in Schaffhausen , Switzerland at the Tri NZ European base camp with Coach Graham Park has enjoyed what has been his best season. Rhodes was full of praise of his fellow Kiwi training partners especially Shane Reed who placed 11 th at the weekend's ITU World Triathlon Championships...but more so singled out Coach G Force who has taken his charge to another level....Rhodes next competes at the Malaysia Half Ironman this weekend then joins up with Coach Park later in October in New Plymouth for a solid block of training for next years New Zealand Ironman in Taupo.........

New Plymouth based Triathlete Shane Reed finished 4 th in last nights ( 8.15 pm Japan time start) 2005 ITU World Aquathlon Championships , Gamagori Japan. For Reed it was a disapointing result after last years win in Maderia. Since he left his training base in Switzerland last saturday his bike and all training and race gear was "lost " by the airlines and didnt arrive at his hotel until hours before last nights race. Apart from swimming at the pool with 15 others in his lane Reed has had to watch other Elite team mates train over this weekend's ITU World Triathlon course . On a positive side of the 2.5 km run 1 km swim and 1.5 km run Reed was happy to have fastest swim time overall. Eventual winner was Tim Don ( Great Britain ) the current ITU # 1 ranked triathlete with countryman Richard Stannard second, third was Paulo Myashiro (Brazil).

New Plymouth Triathletes First and Second

New Plymouth triathletes Kyle Bridgeman and Shanon Barnett both finished first and second respectively at the ITU Geneve Triathlon Championships in the 20-24 male age group category. Barnett was 6 th out of the swim and held his spot off the bike with Bridgeman charging on the demanding bike course which the Elites had competed on 2 hours earlier. Barnett suffered cramps on the run from a change of drink product , by then Bridgeman moved on to the run and overtook his training mate at the 4km mark. For the past three weeks they have been based in Schaffhausen training with NZ Elite triathletes namely Shane Reed who in two weeks competes at the 2005 ITU World Triathlon Championships, Gamagori , Japan. Bridgeman now departs this week to compete in Japan at the Hiroshima Triathlon next weekend.

Reed finished 13 th in the Elite race and was pleased with his result as he has come off with no taper and a 35 hour training week. Coach Graham Park said " all the Kiwi traithletes are slowly building up to the Worlds and with Carter winning Chicago Triathlon and Docherty 3rd all just seem to be peaking just right. The Europeans are in excellent race shape and expect some suprises at the Worlds"

Rhodsey Takes #1 At Ironman UK!

The Inaugural Ironman UK, Sherborne Castle - 21th August 2005

An In-form Bryan Rhodes led from start to finish to take the crown at the Inaugural Ironman UK and in the process has become a three time Ironman winner, carrying the New Zealand Silver Fern sports flag over the line to huge applause in 8:42:14.

Rhodes claimed his third international Ironman victory in impressive fashion, clearing out on the 180km cycling leg before pulling further away in the marathon distance (42km) running leg to win by a whopping 25 minutes in Dorset, south of London.

He had prepared well for the race, winning the Busingen Triathlon in a week earlier, also courtesy of a strong bike leg.

"I'm the first Kiwi to win three Ironman races away from home," an elated Rhodes said. "I guess now it's really time to shift up a gear and join the big time."

For Rhodes it was a stunning race, reminiscent of his first two wins where he swam almost out of sight (45:31), solidified his lead on the bike (4:59:17 the only sub-five-hour time on the day) and then cruised home in the run (2:53:55) for a final time of 8:42:14, the only time under nine hours on this tough day.

Originally Stephen Sheldrake from New Zealand joined Rhodes out front. The UK’s Stephen Bayliss joined the two and that’s the way it stayed until other ‘uber’ bikers arrived in form of Francois Chabaud, Olaf Sabatschus and Nick Marland.

As the bike miles unwound over undulating hills and dales, though, Rhodes just kept cementing his lead until he eventually arrived back at T2 after completing the unique, challenging double loop bike course some 16 minutes ahead of relentless pursuer Chabaud.

In fact Rhodes was caught ‘speeding’ by the local constabulary, running the 50mph zone at 55, and they later set him up, coming to the finish line to ‘charge’ him! (Great stuff you don’t catch Rhodesy out too often!)

Behind Chabaud the field included Olaf Sabatschus, Gerrit De Pauw; Julian Jenkinson and then Stephen Bayliss, who found the pace on the bike electric.

Chabaud set off with a vengeance on the run, but couldn’t catch the Kiwi, who pulled away for a sizeable win.

It was 25 long minutes before Chabaud would reach the line in second, while the gallant German, Olaf Sabatschus, was less than three minutes further back followed by Belgium’s Gerrit de Pauw and then first Englishman, Stephen Bayliss.

A personal race report from Bryan will follow soon but right now the winning photo describes the sense of victory and pride felt by Bryan and all his friends and family.

Thanks go to all Sponsors, Coach of Champions Graham Park and the whole Kiwi team.

New Zealand triathlete Bryan Rhodes ( Taupo ) was the overall Elite winner at Switzerlands oldest and one of its largest triathlons on Saturday. With over 1000 triathletes competing over various distances the event into its 22nd year starts in Germany at Landgstrecke with a 5 km swim down the famous Rhine river exiting at Busingen. Then the 60 km bike ride switches in to Switzerland and Germany 4 times over a hilly course with the 17 km hilly forest run finishing back in Busingen...Rhodes lead a group of athletes from Germany out of the 5 km swim in 31 mins , with a strong lead on the bike , apart from being misdirected and losing 3 minutes he got back into the lead and was never threatened over the testing run finishing in 3 hours 23 minutes...Other triathletes to compete were New Plymouth triathletes Kyle Bridgeman and Shanon Barnett (New Plymouth) , Bridgeman placed 6th in only his 10 th triathlon , last weekend he placed 8th at the ITU World Long Distance Champs Denmark and Barnett finished close behind in 9th place .

Barnett competed at the London Triathlon the week before and was 1 st 20-24 male category. Rhodes comment to Coach Graham Park ( New Plymouth ) after the event was..." that was one tough course man"..... Park is currently based in Schaffhausen at Triathlon New Zealand's European Base Camp for athletes competing at the World Championships 2005...Rhodes used this event as a hitout for next weekends UK Ironman and Barnett and Bridgeman also coached by Park are competing at the World Champs next month.... The experience of racing and training at a Base like this one in Schaffhausen will pay dividends in years to come , along with Rhodes others triathletes to have been based at the camp over the last month includes Cameron Brown, Kieran Doe, Graham O Grady and Evelyn Williamson. With Shane Reed also due to do his final preparation with Coach Park , Will Green , Chris Mc Ateer, Liam Scopes , Anna Elvery and Tarryn Mc Leod are also camp attendees...... A strong group from the camp compete at the ITU Geneve Triathlon on the 28 th August in final prepartion for the ITU World Championships...

Scholarship lifts pace for Bridgeman

NEW PLYMOUTH triathlete Kyle Bridgeman has a hectic five weeks ahead.

Bridgeman (22) leaves this morning bound for Denmark where he will contest the world triathlon long-distance championships on Sunday. (More)

Read the full Taranaki Daily News article here

Kiwi Triathlete Bryan Rhodes finished 5th Elite male at the ITU Caledon International race held on saturday in Toronto, Canada.

This is his final hit out race prior to next weekends ITU World Long Distance Championships , Denmark.

Coach Graham Park who today is in Manchester with his other charge Shane Reed competing in the ITU Salford World Cup race...conditions are overcast and cold...

Bryan's result will have Shane fired up to as he too builds for the 2005 ITU World Championships in Japan in September.

Bryan Rhodes has placed 2 nd at this years Sylan Lake Half Ironman held on Sunday in Edmonton Canada. This completes a double for Coach G Force with Shane Reed also finishing on the podium across the Atlantic at his German event held also over the weekend. Full results will be posted soon at www.waypastfast.com

Shane Reed podium finish at European Cup race (click on link below for complete results), fellow Kiwis Graham O Grady , James Elvery and Ben Pulham listed in results...Coach G Force

http://www.sandoz-alpen-triathlon.de/elite.pdf

It marked another strong weekend for New Zealand triathletes around the globe with Shane Reed finishing third in the Schliersee International Triathlon in Germany.

The Taranaki-based triathlete, with two international wins under his belt already this season, led the Kiwis with Auckland's Debbie Tanner and Wellington's Evelyn Williamson finishing fourth and fifth respectively in the women's race.

Results, ITU World Cup, Edmonton (1.5k swim 40k bike 10k run):

Men: Andy Potts (USA) 1:46.31, 1; Hunter Kemper (USA) 1:47.06, 2; Matt Reed (USA) 1:47.28, 3. New Zealanders: Hamish Carter 1:47.58, 6; Bevan Docherty 1:48.01, 7; Terenzo Bozzone 1:49.19, 13; Bryan Rhodes dnf; Nathan Richmond dnf.

Women: Emma Snowsill (AUS) 1:58.12, 1; Annabel Luxford (AUS) 1:59.02, 2; Joanna Zeiger (USA) 1:59.50, 3; Shanelle Barrett (NZL) 2:04.57, 11.

Schliersee International Triathlon:

Men: Michael Raelert (SWI) 1:59.28, 1; Claude Eksteen (FRA) 2:00.10, 2; Shane Reed (NZL) 2:00.39, 3. Other New Zealanders: Graham O'Grady (Hamilton) 2:03.29, 17; James Elvery (Auckland) 2:06.50, 41; Ben Pulham (Auckland) 2:07.58, 50.

Women: Vendula Finlova (SWE) 2:16.08, 1; Sarah Schutz (GER) 2:17.44, 2; Mieke Suys (BEL) 2:18.22, 3; Debbie Tanner (Acukland) 2:18.24, 4; Evelyn Williamson (Kapiti Coast) 2:18.38, 5.

ITU Holsten race report - Shane Reed loses due to mechanical failure

Shane Reed after a top 5 swim was to have problems with his chain on his bike and lose two minutes fixing it , the margin was too great to catchup to the leaders and he settled foe 20 th place...thats racing !! his run time was 4 th to fastest overall so he never gave up

...thanks for your support Coach G Force

More News - Read about Hamish Carter and more in - Carter "Cooked" in Rich US Triathlon

Check out the Photos section for new photos on Bryan Rhodes in Heat Chamber - 32 degs, 60 % humidity, 15 min warm up, then 30 km on King cycle in Heat Chamber followed by 7.5 km run on treadmill in Heat Chamber.

Selection News

The following athletes coached by Coach G Force have been selected for the New Zealand Triathlon Team to compete at the 2005 ITU Triathlon World Championships Hawaii:
Tamara Kendall, Ben Riley, Darren Scott, Hamish Johnson, Kyle Bridgeman, Shanon Barnett, Matt Stone, Robert Douglas, Iain Dow

New Zealand Duathlon team to compete at 2005 ITU Duathlon World Championships Australia:
Annie Oliver, Pauline Hewitson, Matt Stone, Roger Bedford

2005 ITU World Long Distance Triathlon Championships Denmark:
Kyle Bridgeman

2005 ITU World Long Distance Duathlon Championships Italy:
Tamara Kendall

World Ironman Triathlon Championships Hawaii:
Jeff Mc Grath


New Plymouth Triathlete Jeff Mc Grath attended a Mayoral Function at the New Plymouth District Council Chambers yesterday to recieve a "New Plymouth Honoary Ambassadors Award"...only 30 such awards are awarded during the year to citzens of New Plymouth for sporting achievment at International level representing New Zealand ..Jeff competed at the New Zealand Ironman March 2005 and was first in the 30-34 male age group , this ensured him selection to represent New Zealand at the World Ironman Championships Hawaii October 2005....Mayor Peter Tennent was generous in praise of Jeff's efforts in getting selection and wished him well at the Hawaii event.....Eight other sport men and women recieved the same award with parents , family, coaches present to acknowledge each individuals achievement..On behalf of your fellow squad members and Coach ..."congratulations Krusty, this is a award that is well deserved as you balance life as a Police Officer , father and husband...and Ironman, we all are proud of you... Coach G Force and G Force TriathlonSquad

ITU World Long Distance Championships held Italy 29 May 16.5 km run ..80 km bike..11.5 km run New Plymouth triathlete Tammy Kendall has won the u/23 female category in 5 hours 9 secs over a very tough course in hot conditions. Kendall has yet to finish off the podium in all her races since 2004 , including among them 3rd at 2004 Xterra World Championships , 2004 South Africa Xterra Championships ,2004 and 2005 NZ Xterra Championships .. 2005 Tri NZ National Championships Half Ironman , Olympic and Sprint Distances Tammy has finished in top three in every event...The up and coming 21 year old showed her versatilty competing over the 2005 ITU World Long Distance Duathlon having just last month placied 3 rd in the 20-24 age group at the Mooloolaba Triathlon Australia.....Coach Graham Park said " Tammy has an exciting future and in 2005 she will compete for a German Club .Experience from that style of racing will make her aware of the step up required for Elite Drafting races in 2006....Tammy competes for New Zealand in the 20-24 age group at the 2005 ITU World Triathlon Championships Hawaii 2005 and then World Xterra Championships also in Hawaii two weeks later...."....end of report.