Triathlon: Hewitt takes bronze at Swiss champs

Andrea Hewitt. Photo / Getty Images

New Zealand's Andrea Hewitt continued her stellar season with a bronze at the ITU World Sprint Triathlon Championship in Lausanne, Switzerland, losing out in a sprint finish as Barbara Riveros Diaz (Chile) claimed her maiden senior ITU world title and second World Champs Series win.

Riveros Diaz had dropped to fourth coming into the final kilometre, as Australian Emma Jackson looked like she had the race wrapped up ahead of Hewitt and Helen Jenkins.

But Riveros Diaz turned on the pace with about 500m to go, passed Jenkins and Hewitt and then tackled Jackson. Last year's Under-23 world champion tried to stick with the pint-sized Chilean star, but couldn't keep up as she crossed the line in a time of 58 minutes and 35 seconds.

Hewitt said: "That was painful the whole way, it was so hard, the swim was really fast and that finish was really intense. The pace was on in the beginning, Ashley Gentle (AUS) pushed the pace in the middle and I just seemed to hang on and then was feeling good and then not so good and just managed to pass Helen at the finish. I was hoping I would catch everyone but third is good, I'm happy with that today."

Jackson claimed silver on her birthday and Hewitt overtook Jenkins in the final few hundred metres for bronze. Of the other New Zealanders, Nicky Samuels finished 22nd and Rebecca Kingsford 53rd. Penny Hayes did not complete the distance.

Jenkins leads the overall Dextro Energy Triathlon Series rankings by 201 points, on 2913, with Riveros Diaz second on 2712. Paula Findlay, who did not race in Lausanne, is in third on 2637 points with Hewitt well in striking distance in fourth on 2636 points. The Dextro Energy Triathlon ITU World Championship Series Grand Final Beijing is on September 10 and 11.

Meanwhile, Ryan Sissons, 23, raced impressively for the men, coming home in 15th place as Jonathan Brownlee took the honours for Great Britain from Javier Gomez (ESP) and his older brother Alistair Brownlee in third.

Sissons emerged from the swim and run at a hectic pace in contact with the leaders but couldn't match the blistering pace set first by Sven Reiderer (SUI) and then Brownlee and Gomez.

Clark Ellice (25th), Tony Dodds (32nd) and James Elvery (40th) also kept pace through the opening two legs before losing time on the 5km run in a race that also doubled as an ITU World Champs Series event, with points counting towards world rankings.

Sissons maintains his ranking of 22 heading into the Grand Final in Beijing in early September.

- NZPA