TRIATHLON - Warriner determined to make the most of being No1

Bay of Plenty Times sports editor Kelly Exelby talks to Whangarei's Sam Warriner, the world's No1-ranked women's triathlete, after she confirmed her entry for next month's Port of Tauranga Half Ironman.
Calling it hollow probably isn't doing her or her opponents justice.
But there's still a detectable echo around Olympic triathlete Sam Warriner's one and only crack at the half ironman distance.
Warriner, lured to compete in the Port of Tauranga Half Ironman almost four years ago, ran down Wellington's Lynley Allison, coming from four minutes behind to win in 4h 28.58m - the slowest women's time in 15 years.
It'll be a different story on January 10 after the Whangarei 37-year-old yesterday confirmed she'll take the start line again.
Warriner is quick to point out 2005 was a training jaunt, but concedes she'll have her work cut out next month as the cream of Australasia's long-distance queens descend on Pilot Bay.
"My sole success here in 2005, in all honesty, wasn't anywhere near as strong a field as there had been in previous years, or years since. I still had to go out and win it I suppose, but potentially, with the likes of Jo Lawn, Kate [Bevilaqua, the defending champion] and Rebekah Keat racing it's a much deeper women's field."
To describe Warriner's year as a bumpy ride is like labelling the Black Caps inconsistent.
Warriner finished a disappointing 16th at the Beijing Olympics but finished the season on a high, going to ITU's annual gala awards ceremony in Madrid to pick up the top gong as world No1.
"It was a special moment to be recognised among the great athletes of the world who have had their names on that cup, an unbelievable feeling," she said.
"When I think about it, it's a wicked achievement. I was rock bottom after the Olympics. I have never been so devastated. To pick myself up and achieve the goal of becoming world No1 after that is so satisfying."
She might have bombed in Beijing but her World Cup form was solid in six races - two wins, a second and two thirds, including the world championships in Vancouver.
Big changes are in train for triathlon next year. The world championship is changing from a one-off event to a six-race series, culminating in a grand finale, which next year will be on the Gold Coast in September.
The World Cup circuit will still be in place, but reduced from this year's 13 down to about eight, and designed to sit a tier below the rejigged world champs circuit.
In a series that demands consistency, Warriner will be a threat.
"I was the most consistent performer in the ITU series ... only the second woman to have six podiums in one season," Warriner said.
January 10 will also be a line in the sand for Warriner, who plans to mix the 70.3 (half ironman) distance with Olympic distance next year, although rumours she's about to ditch the short stuff and tackle Jo Lawn head-on more frequently are swiftly kicked to the kerb. "My main focus is still the ITU and the new world (Golden League) series but because that doesn't start until May, and I'm the type of triathlete who goes well off a big base of training and competing, I need to be doing something."
Warriner will line up in the opening race of a new 70.3 series in Australia on February 8, where she hopes to qualify for November's 70.3 world champs in Florida, and the next one in California in April before retraining her sights on Olympic distance.
"I'm keen for a good result at Tauranga as a solid base for the two 70.3 races, but my big goal is the world series.
"This year was geared towards the Olympics and not much racing. There's a finite window to earn money, such a short time at the top, so I have to make the most of it."
Warriner, who should be first out of the water, will be looking over her shoulder for Lawn, a former Commonwealth Games cyclist, on race day.
"You know, I'd like to think I've proved myself as one of the best Olympic-distance triathletes in the world, and Jo's obviously world class over the ironman distance so it has the potential to be a battle of the long versus the short.
"Jo and I are good friends, but we're also real competitive, so I'd imagine we'll be there on the start line looking at each other, neither of us harbouring plans to get second.
"Mind you, I doubt any of the other [elite] girls want second either."