Athletes show an iron will for races

Sue Bankier will contest the 50-54yrs division at the standard world age-group championships in Budapest on September 12, while Gavin Champion will line up in the 40-44yrs grade at the world Ironman championships in Kona, Hawaii on October 9.
Bankier works fulltime for 5 days each week yet still manages to complete a training regime aimed at having her in peak condition for an event consisting of a 1500m swim, 40km cycle and 10km run.
Victory in her class in around 2hrs 30mins at the national age-group champs in Wellington in March was a good confidence boost and having a Wellington-based coach organise her routines has been a positive move.
"I always used to look after my own training, so it's nice to have someone else handling that side of things," she said.
A normal day for Bankier sees her out early in the morning biking and running. After work she"ll swim with distances and speed in each of the disciplines.
It's a hectic schedule but Bankier enjoys the challenge, saying it will be time to quit when the enjoyment goes.
Champion's entry into the world Ironman championships came through a lottery system which basically required prospective participants to put their name in a hat, with 50 international names and 150 American names being drawn out.
He was fortunate enough to be given the nod and will now be part of a field which will include 2000 of the world's best triathletes, all of whom will be confronting the massive assignment of a 3.8km swim, 180km cycle and 42.2km run.
Ironmans are, of course, nothing new for Champion, who has successfully completed four in the past, with his best time coming at the New Zealand championships this year when he clocked 9hrs 57mins in placing 14th in the 40-44yrs age-group.
He is, however, making no predictions of a possible finishing time in Hawaii, as he knows a lot will depend on the weather.
"Quite honestly I'm not sure what to expect ... maybe around 11hrs could be reasonable."
Like Bankier, Champion has been pleased with his build-up, with some of the bigger training days including a 1hr swim, 5hr cycle and 1hr run. He has also been using the Athletics Masterton cross-country series as a chance to do speed work and he's been playing hockey for Featherston to provide welcome variation.