Triathlon: McIlroy makes top ten in Yokohama

Kate McIlroy finished ninth. Photo / Greg Bowker

Kate McIlroy made the most of a bad day at the office by finishing ninth at the latest round of the ITU World Triathlon Series in Yokohama today.

The result left the Wellington athlete in seventh in the overall series standings, while Gwen Jorgensen from the United States took line honours and established herself as the new leading lady of the sport.

Conditions played a huge part, with constant rain and cooler temperatures making for a treacherous race at times and creating a number of crashes on the bike.

But it was Jorgensen who reigned supreme, running down Australia's Emma Moffatt before simply streaking off into the distance. McIlroy was prominent throughout the race, in particular on the bike, but had little in the tank once it came to the run.

"Obviously the run was not great," McIlroy said. "I just felt pretty flat today. It is not what I went into the race planning to do, but to still finishing the top 10 is pretty respectable and, considering how I felt ... it is not a bad end result."

With a group of 13 athletes on together on the front of the bike field, McIlroy attempted to give the race a shake up but it was to prove fruitless.

"It was halfway through the bike when the rain got heavy and the bike pace slowed down, everyone was cautious about the white lines on the road getting really slippery and it was a chance for the chase group to bridge the gap and we became one big pack," she said.

"I talked to Emma Moffatt and she was keen to try and ride hard with me. Obviously it didn't happen but we gave it a bit of a crack and managed to up the pace for a few laps but then the rain came down and it got shut down.

"It was just one of the days when nothing quite gels and you don't feel great but you just have to get it done basically."