"She" was Andrea Hewitt; it was the first elite class performance of real distinction for the woman who this week became the first New Zealand athlete confirmed for next year's Rio Olympics.
That was appropriate too, for although Hewitt can't claim an Olympic medal, as others such as Mahe Drysdale, Eric Murray and Hamish Bond, Valerie Adams, Nick Willis or Lisa Carrington and several others who will go to Rio can, she is among the most accomplished sports performers in this country.
By some distance she has been New Zealand's best triathlete since the days of Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty. She's 33 and showing no sign of slowing down.
Walk away, turn her hand to some other pursuit? Perish the thought, as we'll find out.
When Hewitt won that bronze, she had been competing in triathlon a year, having switched her attention from surf lifesaving. She had completed a Bachelor of Commerce at Canterbury University. The three-part event had an appeal.
Inside that first year, she won the under-23 world title in Japan.
In 2006, she competed in her first World Cup, finishing third. She won her first cup event at Kitzbuhel in 2007 and from there it's been a steady stream of podiums, accolades and the standing of being among the best in her class.
Trying to get to the heart of what makes the diminutive Hewitt tick isn't easy.
Some people are an open book - heck, some are pages strewn around the floor - but Hewitt isn't among them. She is composed when she speaks, there are no throwaway remarks but a matter of fact way of viewing what lies ahead.
The long-legged American Gwen Jorgensen, a winner in every race she entered this year - and recorder of the fastest running leg each time - seems sure to start favourite.
Even Hewitt admits that, but "the swim and bike are still a part of the triathlon and things can happen during a race, so we'll have to see".
Code for Hewitt isn't about to set her sights on simply silver or bronze.
Try suggesting to her that, at 33, she might be slightly past her prime years and Hewitt ever so slightly, and politely, bristles.
"I don't feel I've got any slower in any discipline. I feel like I'm getting better. It showed this year in all my races. I didn't finish outside the top eight [in the world series].
"It didn't matter which race it was, how I was feeling, I still performed on each occasion, so that was definitely a big confidence booster and especially finishing second in the world final. It showed I am as strong, and stronger, than most girls on the circuit."
Tanner, now married and with 16-month-old Lilly her focus, ran her last triathlon at the world series final in Auckland three years ago.
She finished 10th, two places behind Hewitt, in the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and is an unabashed admirer of Hewitt's dedication and her mental and physical abilities.
She remembers "absolutely" having a hunch there were the makings of something special about Hewitt from those early years.
"She's had this never-give-up attitude, that underlying determination, right from the get-go - physical prowess but also mental toughness.
"Most other athletes have had golden years then tapered off, but she's showed, even at her last event, she's still a force to be reckoned with.
"She's the most experienced athlete going into Rio, so any situation thrown at her is nothing new. That will help a lot."
Tanner believes the balance in Hewitt's life, with long-time French partner Laurent Vidal, is an important element.
"If you get too involved and it takes up every waking second, it can become too much.
"But she has the ability to turn off and relax. You would talk to her the night before the Olympic race and you wouldn't know she's competing the next day. That works in her favour."
Ask Hewitt whether she's into visualising how a race might unfold - let's take the Rio triathlon, for example - as many sportspeople do as a preparatory aid, and she's bemused.
"No, I don't do that. I've just never done it. I don't know how to.
"But I still remember what it's like [the Rio course] so I know what I'm training for and what it's going to be like during the race. I know where I'm going to be racing and what conditions I'll have so I can look forward to that."
Hewitt likes the layout in Rio, which starts with a beach swim off Copacabana.
The bike leg has a steep ascent and descent, which left some of the riders in this year's test event uncomfortable, and there's a flat run along the boardwalk to finish.
"The bike is definitely going to be a factor, and it's completely different to other races we do.
"The run is going to be very fast. I've been focusing on my run for a long time now and really picked it up in the last few years.
"I'm sure I can run fast on any course, but on a flat one like this, it's difficult to get away when you can see who's in front and behind you."
Hewitt trains with several French triathletes, coached by Vidal.
A top triathlete, who was fifth in the London Olympic event, he's turned to coaching since suffering a bad heart scare last year from which he had to be resuscitated and put in an induced coma. The dynamic has changed.
"It used to be the two of us training together, travelling to races together, so now we have a bigger group so I guess training is different."
Hewitt broke a collarbone last year when she crashed on a downhill section of the 120km bike leg in the long distance world championships in China. This year she's been relatively unscathed, a state of affairs she's hoping will continue through next year.
She intends taking a full part in the world series - she was never outside the top eight this year - but peaking in Rio.
"It's good, I'll get to race the girls I'll be racing in Rio to gauge my fitness and progress."
Hewitt and Vidal will leave their home in Sete, between Beziers and Montpellier in the south of France, around Christmas and spend a few months in New Zealand before returning to train in France leading up to the Olympics.
However, there's no hint that calling it quits is even on her horizon.
"I love it. I don't want to do anything else. It doesn't cost me anything, I don't feel like I'm hurting myself, I don't feel I'm getting old as such.
"This is just what I like doing."
Profile
• Age: 33
• World Triathlon Series ranking: 2nd
• Won 2011 world series grand final and 2nd overall.
• Olympics: 2008: 8th; 2012: 6th
Commonwealth Games: 2006: 3rd; 2014: 4th
