TRIATHLON - Anton claims honours in Warriner event

Katherine Anton pulled off a tactical victory to become the first to win the Sam Warriner Triathlon at Marsden Cove.
Anton was fourth out of the water yesterday, and had moved up to second after the transition into the final running leg but about 5km out from the finish passed fellow Whangarei triathlete Thomas Andrews to finish in a time of 2hr:13min.
"Thomas led out of the water and held on to that lead on the bikes but couldn't match the speed of Katherine on the run," Warriner said.
Warriner, who was unable to compete seriously because of training commitments, said it was great to watch Katherine be awarded the trophy.
"It was great to see the Sam Warriner Trophy awarded to a woman for the first time," she said.
Another Whangarei club athlete, Mike Hardiman, finished in third place.
Warriner said the event drew about 100 entries, several from Auckland, as well as a large number from the event's main sponsor New Zealand Refining Company.
"It's great for the company to encourage so many of their staff to come out to compete. It was awesome to see," she said.
"A lot of people were there of different abilities and ages but they all seemed to have a great time. There was a big turnout of youngsters as well, which was really pleasing," she said.