Multisport: Spence dazzles in golden weekend at champs for Kiwis

Led by Rebecca Spence, who blitzed the elite junior field, New Zealand duathletes had a weekend to remember at the world championships in Australia.

Spence, who last week was named New Zealand secondary schools multisport athlete of the year, yesterday gave herself an early present for her 17th birthday today with her gold medal effort in the 5km run, 20km cycle, 2.5km run championship over a testing course in downtown Newcastle.

"I felt pretty cruisey on the first run leg. I then rode alone on the three laps of the cycle leg and had a lead of about 1m 10s going into the last run," said Spence after her triumph. "On the last leg I just ran within myself."

But she still finished quickly enough to pick up some of the junior (under-19) boys who had started a minute ahead of her and the rest of the girls.

The gold medal is some compensation for her hard-luck silver at the world triathlon championships in Japan this month.

"I lucked out on transition in Japan and went into a little world of my own," said Spence, who continues the multisport tradition set by current and former Rangitoto College pupils. "I was not going to let that happen again.

"I set myself mainly for the flat course in Japan for the triathlon and just focused on holding my peak after that, hoping I could handle the climb here. It has been a dream month, for sure."

The bad news for the rest of the field is that Spence has another two years in the junior ranks and intends defending her title in Canada next year as well as trying to go one better at the world triathlon championships in Switzerland.

More pressing, though, is a week off and then her first attempt at mixing it with the best elite triathletes in the world at the November 13 ITU World Cup race in New Plymouth.

"That will be my first standard distance race," said Spence. "I aim to just take it as a race and not put any pressure on myself."

Former Rangitoto College head girl Anna Hamilton finished fourth behind Spence with a solid all-round effort. The team-mates were split by Europeans.

Auckland-born Paul Amey, who now competes for Britain, won the men's elite race. Christchurch doctor Mark Bailey turned in his best effort at this level in taking seventh, less than two minutes back.

The age group races on Saturday produced four gold medals for the strong New Zealand contingent, who picked up 11 medals in all, including a quinella in the women's 50-54 years where the Christchurch duo of Brenda Fortune and Julie Wagner stole the show.

Nearly 40 New Zealanders claimed top-10 finishes at the championships.