It was yet another dream day with a dream team winner as about 900 people, with a supporting cast in the thousands, took part in the 22nd annual Tremains Corporate Triathlon in Napier.
The weather was ideal and the swim triathlon, from Pandora Pond to The Esplanade domain in Westshore, was won by a team sponsored by the sponsors.
"Tremains paid our entry," said swimmer Sam Harvey, who with runner Lucas Du Rossi and cyclist Andrew Townsend, were clear winners with a time of 53min 42sec for the 600m swim by 5km run by 20km cycle morning exercise.
Their team, Sam Harvey Training Nfinite Fitness, won by almost five minutes from runners-up and mixed team winners Don't Break a Leg, comprising Angus Wickham, Dulia Haliday, Lewis Aglus, one of the 32 teams from the Hawke's Bay District Health Board among the 300 teams that took part. The best all-female team was Gannet Beach Adventures (Massie Franks, Jenna Tidswell, Lily Stephens), taking 1hr 8min 8sec. The kayak triathlon, with a 1700m paddle instead of the swim, was won by Unison Network team The 3 Amigos, comprising Mitch Graham, Ken Laurie, Nick McCarthy, who completed the course in 56min 37sec. Napier City Council team A Rose Between Two Thorns (Paul O'Shaughnessy, Bede Stephens, Fiona Bruin) claimed mixed team honours, and health board team Time Out (Sophie Winton, Sarah Jayne Hassleman, Jo Van De Spuy) won female team honours, finishing in 1hr 19min 19sec. Victory wasn't a complete surprise for Harvey's team, as he and Townsend having been in previous teams and hopeful that they, pre-event, could cut the distance in under 55 minutes.
"But it wasn't about winning," Harvey said. "It's a community event, it was a beautiful day for it. It's a great day."
