WHANGAREI'S Katherine Anton was less than two minutes off the pace when she claimed third spot at the sprint distance triathlon championships at Kinloch, near Taupo, yesterday with a time of 1hr 09min 34sec.
The women's race was won in 1:07:50 by world No10 Anja Ditmerr, of Germany, ahead of Auckland's
world No 5 Debbie Tanner (1:08.15).
Clark Ellice held off internationals Bevan Docherty and Kris Gemmell to win the latest round of the national series and the elite men's section, a boost ahead of the final Olympic qualifying race in Queensland next month.
He completed the course in a time of 59:28,11sec ahead of Docherty, with Shane Reed another 5sec back in third, and Gemmell fourth.
Ellice is up against Shane Reed, Terenzo Bozzone and James Elvery for the final Olympic berth.
Close to 600 athletes competed in perfect conditions for the national titles and qualification for the world championships in Canada.
