Omanu's Beattie wins Mount Monster

Mount Monster Surf Ironman Race winner Max Beattie. Photo/Andrew Warner

Max Beattie claimed his first Mount Monster title in dramatic fashion today, out-sprinting defending champion Cory Taylor up the beach at the end of the 25km surf lifesaving endurance race in Mount Maunganui.

Locked together through more than two hours of slow burn in the four-leg coastal epic, Beattie called in his fast-twitch fibres to do the job in the home stretch, claiming the win by less than a second.

But the drama wasn't over then either - after crossing the line, Beattie (Omanu) and Midway's Taylor had an anxious 5min penalty to sit through after failing to round a flag during the swim leg.

Although 17-year-old Gisborne schoolboy Matt Scott finished inside the 5mins, the next open male was Mount local Sam Shergold, an agonising 32secs adrift of Beattie and Taylor's 2hrs 23mins 07sec time.

"For a 25km race to end up in a sprint finish is pretty ridiculous," 22-year-old Beattie mused.

"Not only are Cory and I really good mates but we're training partners three times a day, six times a week and we know each other's strengths inside and out. That 5min penalty was definitely in the back of our mind going into the board leg and we pushed the pace as much as we could and I just had enough to get him on the line."

Piha's Kirsty Wannan broke through for her first big win in the women's race, though the 22-year-old was harassed all the way by her 16-year-old clubmate Hannah Williams.

Wannan finished in 2hrs 37mins 33secs, with Williams the second female across the line in 2:39.01.

Papamoa 18-year-old Mason Bryant was perhaps the unluckiest athlete, launching a spectacular solo charge over the opening 5km beach run. He led the field in the jump off Moturiki Island's blowhole too, before falling victim to the same flag-miss which hit Beattie and Taylor.

Swallowed up in the ski leg, Bryant eventually finished third overall, though was relegated to sixth with the time penalty.

Results from the 25km Mount Monster surf lifesaving endurance race in Mount Maunganui today:

Men:
Open: Max Beattie (Omanu) 2:23.07 1, Cory Taylor (Midway) 2:23.07 2, Sam Shergold (Mt Maunganui) 2:23.39 3,
Adam Simpson (Mt Maunganui) 2:26.42 4, Bjorn Battaerd (Whangamata) 2:27.10 5, Mason Bryant (Papamoa) 2:27.44 6, Adrien Lambolez (Mt Maunganui) 2:32.13 7, Lewis Rosewell (Mt Maunganui) 2:32.16 8, Hamish Treanor (Mt Maunganui) 2:34.53 9, Hayden Reardon (Mt Maunganui) 2:36.48 10.
Under 19: Matthew Scott (Midway) 2:22.47 1, Kane Sefton (Mt Maunganui) 2:26.16 2, James Scott (Orewa) 2:26.32 3, Hamish Miller (Mt Maunganui) 2:26.34 4, Andrew Trembath (St Clair) 2:26.49 5.

Women:
Open: Kirsty Wannan (Piha) 2:37.33 1, Katie Wilson (Mt Maunganui) 2:40.08 2, Grace Kaihau (Maroochydore) 2:40.33 3, Taneale Hatton (Piha) 2:42.19 4.
Under 19: Hannah Williams (Piha) 2:39.01 1, Amy Barron (Mt Maunganui) 2:47.10 2.