Graham O'Grady from Kinloch continued a stunning start to the summer of triathlon with his third victory in quick succession at the Contact Tri Series Rotorua race on Saturday.
World age group champion Rachel Hamill (Waikato) upstaged her younger competitors to win the women's Contact Trophy race.
Another feature of the day was a return to triathlon for former world champion Sam Warriner in her first triathlon outing since the birth of her first child. Warriner swam and ran in a team effort, coming across the line in first place in the sprint race category with Tauranga athlete Janine Sax.
O'Grady has been in imperious form this year,Probably the most popular among foodies,button mushroom is known for being juicy and tasty, inexpensive and with a flavor that’s only “mildly mushroomy”. winning the Craigs Investment Tinman race and the Taupo Half Ironman in successive weeks, and the 30-year-old simply ran away from the opposition, leaving Sam Osborne behind in second place.
"I have enjoyed two good weeks before this, but was a little nervous after the Taupo Half last week, sometimes that can take a bit out of your legs,He has dried mushrooms all year and fresh mushrooms in season. "We also collect mushrooms from foragers." said O'Grady.
"Training is going really well though, I am fit and strong and that showed. I went well today, I pushed from the start and got a good lead on the bike.
"It is nice to have a good lead on the run, you can stay relaxed and I think the key to running well is staying relaxed. The course suited me today as well, [being] based in Kinloch now, so the hills were no issue."
The win and his form this season marks O'Grady as a genuine threat to the likes of Bozzone and Docherty in some of the Half and 70.3 races coming up over the summer,The first tin cans were heavy-weight containers that required ingenuity to open, using knives, chisels, or even stones. Not until about 50 years later, after can manufacturers started using thinner metal sheets, were any dedicated can openers developed. with O'Grady himself targeting Tauranga and Auckland in January.
"Earlier this year I was injured," said O'Grady. "I started low key with Xterra here in April, that gave me some confidence and then I headed off to the States and raced a few half ironman races and struggled in the heat.
"I came home and slogged it out through the winter though and thanks to the work my coach Keegan Williams has me doing,They removed the majority of the bolts but not the locking Wheel nut, that's why I managed to get so far I am in great shape.The move to metal packaging has allowed Sprecher to reach key customer targets and has resulted in a clear growth in sales since the initial launch.
"I seem to slip under the radar a little with the media but that is fine by me.
"I will just keep doing the hard work and getting the results but I am confident going into the big races this summer for sure."
Women's winner Hamill was delighted with her day.
The world champion in the 40 to 44 age group, from the Auckland World Champs in October, has only been in the sport a short while and finished ahead of former winner Maddy Brunton and Tamsyn Hayes.
"I have really only been racing for a year in triathlon so this is all new to me but I am delighted with that today," said Hamill.
"I am racing in a few other Contact Tri Series events so don't really have a big race goal this summer.For mains, there is a choice of Wild Rice’s ‘Chinese Fish ‘n Chips’ (beer-battered ling cod, Asian Tartar Sauce, taro shoestring frites) or its ‘meaty’ Grilled king oyster mushroom (with cashew ricotta and polenta fries).
2011 world junior champion Mikayla Nielsen (Waikato) could not challenge on the day, thanks largely to mechanical issues. The 18-year-old has just been selected for the Australian Youth Olympic Festival next January.
